JUSTICE

Bronzefield Prison

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether (a) the prison governor or (b) another official gave permission for the performance of Sister Act in HMP Bronzefield in February and March 2014. [Official Report, 25 June 2014, Vol. 583, c. 1MC.]

Simon Hughes: Former employees of the Trusts have transferred to the new organisations, namely the National Probation Service (NPS) and the 21 Community Rehabilitation Companies. A small number of chief executives have taken early retirement or are due to do so over the next few weeks. There have also been a number of departures at Assistant Chief Officer (ACO) level. These were part of the normal turnover of staff; details of these are not held centrally.

Cemeteries

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the number of local authorities which have adopted powers under the London Local Authorities Act 2007 to re-use graves where burial rights have been extinguished since that Act came into force;
	(2)  what estimate his Department has made of the number of grave spaces that have been created in London since the introduction of the London Local Authorities Act 2007.

Simon Hughes: The Ministry of Justice has not made an estimate of the number of grave spaces created since the introduction of the London Local Authorities Act 2007 or the number of local authorities who have used powers under the Act to re-use graves. However, as the Ministry of Justice has responsibility for burial law and policy, I am keeping the issue of burial space under active review including considering what legislative changes might be necessary to address a shortage of graves.

Chief Scientific Advisers

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many meetings he has had with his Department's Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months.

Shailesh Vara: As was the case under previous Administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

Community Rehabilitation Companies

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether a criminal conviction is a disqualification for a Community Rehabilitation contract.

Jeremy Wright: Final bids to run the Community Rehabilitation Companies (CRCs) are expected at the end of June 2014, and will be rigorously assessed against robust quality, legal, commercial and financial criteria. In the Pre-Qualification Questionnaire, bidders were required to declare that their organisation, directors or partners or any other person who has powers of representation, decision or control had no convictions in relation to criminal offences such as conspiracy, corruption, bribery or fraud and that their organisation had no convictions for criminal offences relating to the conduct of their business or profession and acts of grave misconduct. As set out in the Invitation to Negotiate, bidders are required to notify the department of any changes to the position set out in their declarations or anything that may affect their continued participation in the competition and the department reserves the right to undertake a full re-assessment and, if grounds for rejection exist, exclude the bidder from further participation in the competition.
	The MOJ also undertook extensive due diligence of bidders on a range of matters, including integrity and legal compliance issues. As a consequence we have a robust and diverse market.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many applications were made to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority's hardship fund in 2013-14; and what proportion of such applications were successful.

Damian Green: The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority received 10 applications under the hardship fund in 2013-14, of which four were successful.
	People who did not meet the fund's earnings criteria lodged the six remaining applications. The fund is there to support low-paid workers and four of these six people earned too much to be eligible, while the other two lost no income as a result of the injuries they sustained.

European Convention on Human Rights

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will place in the Library a copy of the Government's written submission to the European Court of Justice which was the subject of the hearing before the Court in April 2014 about the EU application to accede to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Damian Green: The European Court of Justice held a hearing on 5-6 May 2014 before a full court in proceedings under article 218 (11) of Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union regarding the European Commission’s request for an Opinion on the compatibility of the draft Accession Agreement with the EU Treaties.
	I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given to him on 10 December 2013, Official Report, column 123W.
	My subsequent letter to the European Scrutiny Committee of 20 December 2013, as referenced in the Committee’s Twenty-ninth Report of session 2013-14 of 8 January 2014, clarifies the basis on which documents in the proceedings are confidential.
	My most recent letter to the European Scrutiny Committee of 18 June 2014 outlines that the UK’s oral submissions supported the compatibility of the draft Accession Agreement with the EU Treaties, and sought to encourage the Court to robustly test the draft Accession Agreement and its implications while steering clear of making any findings that prejudge the content of the internal EU rules.

Fraud: Sentencing

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many custodial sentences have been passed for convictions for fraud in the last five years for which figures are available; what the average length of those sentences was in each such years; and what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to increase the maximum sentence for fraud.

Jeremy Wright: The number of offenders sentenced to immediate custody for fraud offences, in England and Wales, from 2009 to 2013 (the latest data available), can be viewed in the table. Average custodial sentence lengths have increased from 12.2 months to 14.9 months over the last five years.
	The maximum penalty for fraud is a 10-year custodial sentence. There are no immediate plans to increase the maximum sentences for fraud, but we keep all maximum sentences under review.
	Under this Government, if convicted of fraud, you are more likely to go to prison and for longer.
	
		
			 Offenders sentenced to immediate custody for fraud offences, England and Wales, 2009-131, 2 
			 Outcome 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 
			 Sentenced 14,688 15,481 14,887 12,222 12,095 
			 Of which:      
			 Immediate custody 2,654 2,657 2,947 2,631 2,535 
			 Average custodial sentence length (months)3 12.2 13.4 14.9 14.6 14.9 
			 1 The figures given in the table relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences it is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. 2 Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 3 Excludes life and indeterminate sentences. Source: Justice Statistics Analytical Services—Ministry of Justice.

Parole

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  in what circumstances offenders can choose not to attend a parole board meeting when a victim reads a victim personal statement;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of offenders present at parole board hearings when a victim personal statement is read.

Jeremy Wright: The victims of serious violent and sexual offences, where the offender has been sentenced to 12 months or more, may opt into the statutory victim contact scheme, operated by the National Probation Service. Where they do so, they will be informed of a Parole Board review and offered the opportunity to make a victim personal statement (VPS). The VPS provides victims with a valuable opportunity to tell the Parole Board how the offence has affected them or their family, both at the time it was committed and since, and how they think the offender’s release would affect them. The VPS can contribute to a better and more informed hearing, as it may enable more robust questioning of the offender about the offence, remorse and victim empathy.
	The independent Parole Board is responsible for the conduct of parole hearings. The normal practice is that the offender will not be present when the victim reads his/her VPS, but there may be circumstances where he/she will be. In many cases, the victim does not wish the offender to be present during the reading. While the conduct of an individual hearing is for the chair of the panel of the Parole Board, the chair cannot insist that the prisoner attends to hear the VPS being read if he/she does not wish to do so. No estimate has been made centrally of the proportion of offenders present at the hearing when the VPS is read out.

Personal Independence Payment: Appeals

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many refused claims for personal independence payment have (a) been appealed and (b) been successfully appealed to date.

Shailesh Vara: The First-tier Tribunal-Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits including personal independent payment (PIP).
	This information is published in Tribunals Statistics Quarterly, available at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2014

Prison Accommodation

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what new prison accommodation is planned to come on stream and in which locations before May 2015.

Jeremy Wright: We will always have enough prison places for those sent to us by the courts and continue to modernise the prison estate so that it delivers best value for the taxpayer. This Government have a long term strategy for managing the prison estate which will provide more adult male prison capacity than we inherited from the previous Government.
	Over 2,000 further places for adult male prisoners will become available before May 2015, including new house-blocks at HM Prisons The Mount, Thameside, Parc and Peterborough. The remainder of the places will come from re-opening refurbished or mothballed capacity.

Prisoner Escapes

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice on how many occasions the Royal Prerogative of Mercy has been granted in relation to offences occurring as a result and in the course of escaping from or breaking out of prison in the last 25 years; and if he will make a statement.

Jeremy Wright: We do not centrally hold data on the number of occasions the Royal Prerogative of Mercy has been exercised for the time period in question. Consequently, the information requested could be obtained only at disproportionate cost, as it would involve a manual trawl through the records of every prisoner who has formed part of the prison population for the last 25 years, to identify, firstly, if they have ever escaped from prison custody and secondly, if a request to exercise the Royal Prerogative of Mercy was successful.

Prisoners: Radicalism

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what steps his Department is taking to prevent the spread of Islamic extremism among the prison population.

Jeremy Wright: We are alert to the risks posed by individuals who may wish to radicalise others, and we are committed to tackling radicalisation in the prison environment as an important element of our responsibility to protect the public and reduce re-offending.
	NOMS has in place a wide-ranging programme of work to manage individuals convicted of terrorist or related offences. This programme focuses on: increasing the counter-terrorism intelligence infrastructure working with partner agencies; ensuring provision of an effective Chaplaincy which can challenge extremist ideology; structured risk assessment tools and bespoke interventions; staff briefing and training, and robust processes for the management of offenders on release.
	NOMS contributes to the cross-Government CT strategy CONTEST, and works alongside other Departments to manage the threat posed. As with all significant criminal threats, a multi-agency approach is taken to ensure that information and learning is shared between agencies.

Prisoners: Radicalism

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what assessment his Department has made of the potential risks of imprisoned extremists returned from terrorist operations overseas (a) radicalising the Muslim prison population and (b) recruiting other prisoners to commit terrorist acts in the UK or overseas.

Jeremy Wright: I am responding to this question as I am the Minister responsible for the prison estate. We are well aware of the risks posed by individuals who return to the UK having gained experience, through training or participation, in terrorism overseas. At the current time clearly those travelling to and from Syria are of particular concern.
	The Prison Service works closely with the Police and other Agencies in all areas of Counter Terrorism work; including where individuals are held in custody having returned from overseas. All prisoners are managed according to the risk they pose, taking into consideration all relevant information and intelligence that is identified.
	The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) has long recognised the threat posed by terrorists and extremists, and has considerable experience in managing this threat. The Prison Service will continue to use its well established and effective three-tiered response: to identify behaviour that may indicate extremism, to report it using established intelligence systems, and to manage it through disruption and intervention.

Prisoners: Sanitary Protection

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether a full range of sanitary products is provided free-of-charge to female prisoners.

Simon Hughes: Women should be given any items required to meet essential personal needs for their first 24 hours in custody, including toiletries, clean clothing and a towel. Women also must have easy access to a choice of sanitary provision. Tampons with applicators must be one of the choices.
	All prisons across the female custodial estate provide Interlude tampons and sanitary towels to women free of charge. Other brands of sanitary products are available for women to buy via the National Product list.

Prisons: Employment

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what proportion of prisoners were recorded as having had some involvement in purposeful activity; and how many were recorded as unemployed in each prison in England and Wales as at 31 December 2013.

Jeremy Wright: This information is not available centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Work in prisons is a key priority to ensure prisoners are engaged purposefully whilst they are in custody. It also gives them the opportunity to learn skills and a work ethic which can increase their chances of finding employment on release, a key element to reducing reoffending.
	The number of prisoners working in industrial activity across public sector prisons increased from around 8,600 in 2010-11 (the first year for which figures are available) to around 9,700 in 2012-13. This delivered an increase in the total hours worked in industrial activities from 10.6 million hours to 13.1 million hours. Private sector prisons have also been supporting this agenda and have reported that they delivered over 1.5 million prisoner working hours in commercial and industrial workshops in 2012-13 which provided work for over 1,200 prisoners.
	In addition there are substantial numbers of prisoners who work to keep prisons running on tasks such as cooking, serving meals, maintenance and cleaning.
	Figures for public sector prisons are published in the NOMS Annual Report Management Information Addendum:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/225225/mi-addendum.pdf
	Figures for 2013-14 will be published in July.
	Our reforms to the Incentives and Earned Privileges national policy framework came into effect in adult prisons on 1 November 2013. Prisoners will be expected to engage in purposeful activity, as well as demonstrate a commitment towards their rehabilitation, reduce their risk of reoffending, behave well and help others if they are to earn privileges.
	Information on purposeful activity in each prison and category of prison was published annually in the Prison Performance Digest up until 2011-12 and can be found at the following location:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/163299/prison-performance-digest-2011-12.xls
	Please note that figures are not available after 2011-12. Purposeful activity was formerly a performance indicator for prisons, but was discontinued at the start of 2012-13. The indicator was not used in the day-to-day management of prisons and NOMS had concerns over the burden on the front line of collecting the information. Indicators introduced into prison SLAs in respect of rehabilitation, resettlement and work in prisons provide a better demonstration of efforts to prepare prisoners for release and reduce reoffending.
	Figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system, are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Prisons: Staff

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which places of detention on the prison estate have (a) a member of staff assigned to the role of foreign national co-ordinator and (b) more than one foreign national co-ordinator; how many such co-ordinators there are across the prison estate; and at what salary grade they are paid.

Jeremy Wright: While prisons are required to ensure that systems are in place to both facilitate the identification of foreign national prisoners and to meet their distinct needs, there is no mandatory requirement for prisons to have a designated foreign national co-ordinator. It is for Governors and Directors to decide how best to allocate their staffing resources, dependent upon the make-up and needs of their population and their staffing resource. While some will choose to assign dedicated staff to a foreign national co-ordinator role, in either a full or part-time capacity, others will have in place an arrangement that spreads responsibility for this work among a number of staff. Information on the arrangements in place at each prison is not recorded centrally.

Probation Trusts

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) chief executives, (b) deputy chief executives and (c) assistant chief officers of probation trusts have left their posts since 1 January 2014.

Jeremy Wright: Former employees of the trusts have transferred to the new organisations, namely the National Probation Service (NPS) and the 21 community rehabilitation companies. A small number of chief executives have taken early retirement or are due to do so over the next few weeks. There have also been a number of departures at assistant chief officer (ACO) level. These were part of the normal turnover of staff; details of these are not held centrally.

Probation Trusts

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many non-disclosure or compromise agreements have been included in the departure packages of former employees of probation trusts since 1 January 2014;
	(2)  how many (a) chief executives, (b) deputy chief executives and (c) assistant chief officers of probation trusts who left their posts since 1 January 2014 had non-disclosure or compromise agreements as part of their departure packages.

Jeremy Wright: There have been no non-disclosure or compromise agreements included as part of the departure packages of the trust chief executives who have taken early retirement. The terms of departure for other former trust staff were agreed through their own local arrangements.

Probation Trusts

Sadiq Khan: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many former employees of probation trusts received payouts of (a) up to £5,000, (b) up to £10,0000, (c) up to £15,000, (d) up to £20,000, (e) up to £30,000, (f) up to £40,000, (g) up to £50,000, (h) up to £75,000, (i) up to £100,000 or (j) £100,000 or more since 1 January 2014;
	(2)  how many probation trust employees who left their jobs received higher than contractual payments since 1 January 2014;
	(3)  how much former employees of probation trusts have received in severance pay since 1 January 2014.

Jeremy Wright: Prior to 1 June, probation staff in England and Wales were employed by the 35 probation trusts. Employment data of the kind requested were held by the individual probations trusts. They were not collected centrally and it would not be possible to obtain the information without incurring disproportionate cost.

Secure Colleges: Leicestershire

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 469W, on Secure Colleges: Leicestershire, what steps have been taken to ensure the safety and well-being of the cohort.

Jeremy Wright: The requirements set out within the tender for the design and build of the Secure College pathfinder took into account departmental experience of providing safe custodial environments. The initial design for the Secure College pathfinder was evaluated against these requirements as well as design, operation and security considerations.
	The Ministry of Justice will be working with Wates, the preferred design and build bidder, over the coming months to refine the initial design. This will include ensuring that different groups of young people can be accommodated discretely, if needed, within the site.
	The safety and well-being of young people is central to all plans for the design and operation of the Secure College pathfinder.

Social Security Benefits: Appeals

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what proportion of appeals to the Tribunals Service from appellants in (a) Coventry, (b) the West Midlands and (c) England relating to (i) disability living allowance, (ii) employment and support allowance, (iii) income support, (iv) jobseeker's allowance and (v) tax credits were successful in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(2)  what average length of time was taken by the Tribunals Service to administer a First-tier Tribunal Social Security and Child Support appeal in respect of (a) disability living allowance, (b) employment and support allowance, (c) income support, (d) jobseeker's allowance and (e) tax credits in (i) Coventry, (ii) the West Midlands and (iii) England in the latest period for which figures are available.

Shailesh Vara: The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS), hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits.
	Table 1 shows the average length of time to complete appeals in respect of employment and support allowance (ESA) in (a) Coventry, (b) the west midlands and (c) England between April 2013 and March 2014, the latest period for which figures are available.
	Table 2 shows the proportion of appeals which were decided in favour of the appellant in (a) Coventry (b) the west midlands and (c) England in respect of (i) disability living allowance (DLA), (ii) ESA, (iii) income support (IS), (iv) jobseeker’s allowance (JSA), and (v) tax credits between April 2013 and March 2014, the latest period for which figures are available.
	
		
			 Table 1: Average length of time to administer ESA1 appeals between April 2013 and March 2014, the latest period for which figures are available, 2013-14 
			  Weeks 
			 Coventry 29 
			 West midlands2 27 
			 England 23 
		
	
	
		
			 Table 2: Percentage of appeals decided in favour of the appellant in 2013-14, the latest period for which figures are available 
			  Appeal type Percentage 
			 Coventry DLA 45 
			  ESA 48 
			  IS 27 
			  JSA 24 
			  Tax credit 12 
			  Overall 44 
			 West midlands2 DLA 36 
			  ESA 39 
			  IS 32 
			  JSA 23 
			  Tax credit 20 
		
	
	
		
			  Overall 37 
			    
			    
			 England DLA 41 
			  ESA 43 
			  IS 25 
			  JSA 19 
			  Tax credit 19 
			  Overall 39 
			 1 Includes employment and support allowance and employment and support allowance (incapacity benefit reassessment). 2 West midlands includes appeals heard at Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Kidderminster, Leamington Spa, Nuneaton, Shrewsbury, Solihull, Stoke, Walsall, Wolverhampton and Worcester venues. Note: The above data are taken from management information in line with published statistics. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the data, the details are subject to inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale reporting system and is the best data available. 
		
	
	A significant increase in ESA appeals received by the tribunal resulted in increased waiting times for appeals. In 2011-12, ESA appeal receipts at Coventry were 1,896; west midlands 18,957; and England 145,625. In 2012-13 these rose to 3,025, 33,958 and 200,850 respectively. To meet the increased demand, HMCTS increased the capacity of the tribunal by, among other things, recruiting additional judges and medical members, increasing the number of venues used, extended opening times and introduced more efficient processes.
	During 2013-14, the tribunal has experienced a reduction in ESA appeal receipts (2,569 in Coventry, 18,969 in the west midlands, and 190,047 in England). The reduction in receipts and the increased capacity within the tribunal has enabled HMCTS to focus on reducing outstanding workloads. As at the end of March, for the tribunal overall, this stood at 78,347, a reduction of 143,254 (65%) from June 2013.
	Action taken to address waiting times specifically at Coventry have included offering appellants hearings at alternative venues in Leamington Spa and Nuneaton and, from June 2013, the number of hearing rooms at Coventry doubled.
	These measures have had a positive effect resulting in a reduction in the average waiting time for ESA appeals at the Coventry venue from 35 weeks in 2012-13 to 29 weeks in 2013-14.
	Typically, new appellants lodging new appeals which would be heard at the Coventry venue are now being offered a hearing date between 13 and 14 weeks of receipt of the appeal. For the west midlands overall this would be between nine and 14 weeks.

Social Security Benefits: Medical Examinations

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many (a) appeals and (b) successful appeals against Atos assessments in (i) Nottingham and (ii) Ashfield constituency there were in each of the last three years.

Shailesh Vara: The First-tier Tribunal—Social Security and Child Support (SSCS), administered by HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) hears appeals against Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) decisions on a range of benefits including a person’s entitlement to employment and support allowance (ESA).
	While a work capability assessment (WCA) can be a key factor in an ESA decision, it is not the only consideration. Appeals are brought against ESA refusals, and not WCA decisions themselves. The Tribunal does not record information on those ESA appeals in which the WCA decision is a factor, and as such HMCTS does not hold the specific information requested.
	Information on appeals against ESA decisions is published by HMCTS in Tribunal Statistics Quarterly. The most recent report for the period January to March 2014, published on 12 June 2014, can be viewed at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tribunal-statistics-quarterly-january-to-march-2014

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.

Shailesh Vara: There has been a 79% fall in the Department’s use of higher-rate numbers since 2009.
	The Department has received no revenue from higher rate telephone numbers for the period under review.
	The information held centrally for the public use of (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 telephone numbers operated (i) and (ii) sponsored by the Ministry of Justice are as follows:
	
		
			  Number 
			 (a) 0845 numbers 32 
			 (b) 0844 numbers 2 
			 (c) 0843 numbers 0 
		
	
	The majority of these numbers are operated by the County Court Business Centre (CCBC).
	Information on volumes for calls to higher-rate telephone numbers for the last 12 months is not systematically collected by the service providers, and to obtain it would incur disproportionate costs.
	Nineteen higher rate numbers in the CCBC are in the process of being replaced by 0300 numbers. The four 0845 numbers receiving the highest volumes of calls in the CCBC are being discontinued on 1 August 2014, and when inquirers call these numbers they are being advised to contact an alternative 0300 number.
	As stated in previous answers to parliamentary questions, the Department's approach is not to use higher rate numbers and instead, wherever possible, to assign 0300 numbers, for which the tariff is similar to calling an 01 or 02 (geographic) number, whether the caller is using a fixed line or a mobile phone.

HEALTH

Accident and Emergency Departments

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate his Department has made of the average travelling distance to a 24-hour accident and emergency department for people in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk and (c) England and Wales.

Jane Ellison: No estimate has been made by the Department. NHS England has, however, published best practice guidance “Planning and delivering service changes for patients”. In the guidance, commissioners are reminded that where any changes are proposed to urgent and emergency care services, they need to provide analysis of travelling times and distances, identifying the impact on pedestrians and public and private transport users, as well as the ambulance service where relevant.

Ambulance Services

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure that ambulance crews and dispatch staff are able to access meaningful supervision; and if he will assess the merits of introducing rapid response units similar to those operating in Northern Ireland.

Jane Ellison: Decisions about workforce issues, such as the supervision of ambulance staff, are a local matter and it remains up to ambulance trusts to decide how this is managed.
	However, the Department expects trusts to ensure all their staff are supported in their roles and for there to be effective management arrangements.
	Ambulance services, including emergency response services, are commissioned by clinical commissioning groups, which have a responsibility to ensure that appropriate services are provided to their populations.
	It is the decision of individual ambulance trusts as to how resources are used to meet local demand.
	The Department recognises that having a rapid response vehicle (RRV) to carry clinical equipment and get a clinician to the patient as quickly as possible is beneficial to the care of a patient.
	In addition, clinicians using RRVs to arrive first on the scene are able to conduct an assessment of the patient to determine how they should be managed or may be in advance of an ambulance to begin treatment and stabilisation prior to transport.
	We are aware that most ambulance trusts utilise RRVs daily as part of their emergency response.
	As part of the Urgent and Emergency Care Review, being led by Sir Bruce Keogh, an ambulance task group has been established to look at new models of delivery of care. The first phase of the review was published last November; and we expect NHS England to be publishing further reports later this year.

Antidepressants

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 19 January 2012, Official Report, columns 932-3W, how many companies hold licences for the manufacture or distribution of (a) nitrazepam, (b) flurazepam, (c) loprazolam, (d) lormetazepam, (e) temazepam, (f) clonazepam, (g) medazepam, (h) midazolam, (i) zopiclone, (j) zaleplon, (k) zolpiden, (l) eszopiclone, (m) SSRI antidepressants and (n) trycyclic antidepressants; and how many of those licences were issued in the last three years.

Norman Lamb: There are currently 15 products authorised in the United Kingdom containing nitrazepam and 15 different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.
	There are currently two products authorised in the UK containing flurazepam and one company authorised to manufacture and distribute them.
	There are currently two products authorised in the UK containing loprazolam and two different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.
	There are currently eight products authorised in the UK containing lormetazepam and four different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.
	There are currently 10 products authorised in the UK containing temazepam and six different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.
	There are currently six products authorised in the UK containing clonazepam and three different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.
	There are currently no authorised products in the UK containing medazepam.
	There are currently 22 products authorised in the UK containing midazolam and 10 different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.
	There are currently 17 products authorised in the UK containing zopiclone and nine different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.
	There are currently two products authorised in the UK containing zaleplon and one company authorised to manufacture and distribute them.
	There are currently 21 products authorised in the UK containing zolpidem and 12 different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.
	There are currently no authorised products in the UK containing eszopiclone.
	There are currently 238 products authorised in the UK containing SSRI antidepressants and 57 different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.
	There are currently 16 products authorised in the UK containing tricyclic antidepressants and 11 different companies authorised to manufacture and distribute them.
	One loprazolam, four lormetazepam, two clonazepam, two midazolam, three zopiclone, four zolpidem and 75 SSRI products have been authorised in the last three years.

Breast Cancer

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what guidance he has given to clinical commissioning groups on the use of the NICE breast cancer quality standard when commissioning breast cancer services;
	(2)  what responsibilities NHS England has for commissioning breast cancer services;
	(3)  what responsibilities clinical commissioning groups have for commissioning breast cancer services;
	(4)  what guidance he has given to clinical commissioning groups on their involvement with (a) strategic clinical networks and (b) breast network site-specific groups.

Jane Ellison: The majority of treatments for cancer, such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy, are commissioned nationally by NHS England. Commissioning is informed by a range of clinical reference groups established as a primary source of advice on best practice, service standards for commissioned providers and forward strategy and innovation.
	Clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) plan and buy local community and non-specialised hospital cancer services in their local area. This includes the diagnosis, oversight of treatment and surgical management of breast cancers.
	NHS England is not aware of any formal guidance being given to CCGs on engagement with Strategic Clinical Networks (SCNs) or breast network site-specific groups. However, it would expect that all health organisations would wish to be part of SCNs. As CCGs are responsible for much of the commissioning of services covered by the SCNs (e.g. cancer, stroke, mental health, and dementia care), they have an interest in their activities.
	Breast network site specific groups are specialist groups who focus on protocol development, improving care and the quality and outcomes of services within the SCN area. It would not be expected for a CCG to normally engage directly with that group but they would be part of a process to approve protocols and of any escalation process if there were concerns about a particular service within the SCN.
	National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standards define clinical best practice for the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer to help clinicians ensure that patients are given information about the treatment options available and help in choosing the best option to suit them. NHS England would expect CCGs to take into account NICE quality standards when commissioning breast cancer services.

Cancer: Drugs

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people received funding through the Cancer Drugs Fund in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last five years.

Norman Lamb: Prior to April 2013, information on the Cancer Drugs Fund was administered through clinical panels based in each strategic health authority (SHA) and data on the number of patients who received funding in each constituency and city were not collected. Information on the number of patients funded in West Midlands SHA and England in 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 is shown as follows:
	
		
			  Number of patients funded: 
			  In 2010-11 In 2011-12 In 2012-13 Since October 20101 
			 West Midlands SHA 292 1,658 1,534 3,484 
			 England 2,780 11,798 15,456 30,034 
			 1 Some individual patients may be double-counted where a patient has received more than one drug treatment through the Cancer Drugs Fund. Source: Information provided to the Department by SHAs 
		
	
	NHS England has had oversight of the Fund since April 2013 and publishes information on patient numbers routinely on its website at:
	www.england.nhs.uk/ourwork/pe/cdf/
	In 2013-14, 5,695 patients in the Midlands and East region and 19,282 patients in England received funding through the Fund. In addition, 28 individual cancer drugs fund request applications were approved by the Cancer Drugs Fund panel in the Midlands and East region with 278 applications approved nationally.

Cancer: Drugs

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the effectiveness of albumin bound paclitaxel, bevacizumab and cabozantinib since the introduction of those drugs; and what discussions on this matter he has had with his counterparts in the devolved Assemblies.

Norman Lamb: We have had no such discussions.
	The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) has appraised the use of bevacizumab (Avastin) for a number of cancers including colorectal, breast, ovarian, non-small cell lung cancer and kidney cancer and has not been able to recommend the drug's use as a clinical and cost-effective use of national health service resources in any of these appraisals.
	NICE is currently appraising the use of paclitaxel albumin-bound nanoparticles (Abraxane) in treating advanced pancreatic cancer with final guidance expected in January 2015. NICE is also appraising this technology for use in the first-line treatment of metastatic melanoma, with final guidance expected in May 2015.
	There are no plans for NICE to appraise cabozantinib (Cometriq) for the treatment of thyroid cancer.

Chief Scientific Advisers

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many meetings he has had with his Department’s chief scientific adviser in the last 12 months.

Daniel Poulter: As was the case under previous Administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

Chlamydia

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to encourage the uptake of chlamydia screening.

Jane Ellison: The Public Health Outcomes Framework includes a chlamydia diagnosis rate indicator—one of three sexual health indicators in the framework. Public Health England (PHE) encourages local authorities to work towards achieving a rate of 2,300 diagnoses per 100,000 young adult populations.
	The National Chlamydia Screening Programme (NCSP) supports this aim through:
	Publishing chlamydia screening standards, to form the basis of local screening planning, delivery and quality assurance;
	Producing guidance to support local commissioners and providers in the delivery of chlamydia screening, including forthcoming publication ‘Achieving the diagnostic rate indicator’;
	Reviewing and summarising the latest evidence to inform evidence-based and cost-effective approaches to chlamydia screening;
	Collecting and publishing chlamydia data, at a national and local level, to monitor screening and detection activity;
	Providing information to young adults on chlamydia, chlamydia screening and wider sexual health matters (e.g. condom use, contraception), including via a website;
	Supporting the implementation of specific programmes to increase chlamydia screening rates, such as the ‘3Cs and HIV Programme’. This is currently being piloted across England to encourage the routine offer of chlamydia screening, alongside information on contraception and condoms, to young adults during primary care appointments;
	A team of PHE sexual health facilitators, who are linked closely into local commissioner and provider sexual health networks, with a focus on promoting chlamydia screening; and
	Evaluating the impact of the NCSP, including development of different approaches to estimate and monitor prevalence, such as mathematical modelling.

Clinical Commissioning Groups: Suffolk

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of running and administering the (a) West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group and (b) East Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group.

Daniel Poulter: NHS England advises that the final annual reports 2013-14 for the West Suffolk and Ipswich and East Suffolk clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) show the following spend on administration costs:
	
		
			 Statement of comprehensive net expenditure for the year ended 31 March 2014-administration costs 
			 £ million 
			  Ipswich and East Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group West Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group 
			 Net administration costs before financing 7.3 5.2 
		
	
	From 2013-14, the running costs allowance for CCGs is expected to be £25 per head of population per annum. At this level, running costs allowances will be consistent with the requirement to reduce administration costs by one-third.

Cystic Fibrosis

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) number and (b) proportion of adult cystic fibrosis centres in England have (i) reached and (ii) exceeded the maximum capacity of 250 patients recommended by the Cystic Fibrosis Trust in each of the last four years.

Norman Lamb: Information concerning the number of adult cystic fibrosis (CF) patients cared for by CF centres in England in each of the last four years is not available. These data have only been collected since the introduction of the tariff for CF services in 2011.
	In the following table we have provided the number and proportion of CF centres treating 250 patients or more in each of the last three years.
	It should be noted that the “Standards of Care” updated by CF Trust in 2011 does not state that 250 patients is the maximum number a CF centre should treat, but rather that when a centre reaches 250 patients, and anticipates that numbers will continue to rise, the development of alternative specialist centres should be considered.
	
		
			  Number of centres treating 250 patients or more Proportion of centres treating 250 patients or more 
			 2011 6 21 
			 2012 6 21 
			 2013 6 21

Equitable Life Independent Inquiry

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions he has had with the Scottish Executive about the timetable for publication of the Penrose Inquiry.

Jane Ellison: The timetable for Lord Penrose to complete his report and publish it, is a matter for Lord Penrose himself to decide. Lord Penrose has publicly announced that he will publish his report in the autumn of 2014, but we do not know the exact date. We are keeping in touch with the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing of the Scottish Government.

Exercise

Gerry Sutcliffe: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition his Department uses of an adequate amount of weekly physical activity.

Jane Ellison: The UK chief medical officers' (CMOs) guidelines for physical activity for adults is to be active daily, up to at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity a week. Children and young people should be active for at least 60 minutes and up to several hours every day of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity. The guidelines were published in July 2011. More information can be found from UK CMOs' report on physical activity 'Start Active, Stay Active'. A copy of the report has already been placed in the Library.

Food

Andrew Percy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  on what criteria his Department differentiates a food for special medical purposes and a food supplement;
	(2)  if he will outline the process, criteria and guidelines that his Department follows to evaluate foods for special medical purposes for the UK market; what criteria his Department uses for such evaluations; and what guidance his Department issues on foods for special medical purposes.

Jane Ellison: The Department's role and the definition of these products are set out in legislation. Information on this legislation is available at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/food-supplements-guidance-and-faqs
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/infant-formula-and-foods-for-particular-nutritional-uses-parnuts-notification-requirements
	Local authorities are responsible for enforcement of the legislation and provide advice to businesses on compliance with legislation.

Food Banks

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2014, Official Report, column 281W, on food banks, whether (a) he and (b) other Ministers in his Department plan to visit a food bank in order to assess the contribution of food banks to public health and nutrition.

Daniel Poulter: There are no current plans for Ministers in the Department to visit a food bank, but this does not preclude planned visits in their wider capacities or as constituency MPs. We would consider undertaking an official visit, if an invitation was received.

Food: Charitable Donations

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 30 October 2012, Official Report, column 146W, on food: charitable donations, and 7 March 2013, Official Report, column 1105, what assessment (a) his Department and (b) the Food Standards Agency has made of the compatibility of legislation to remove criminal and civil liability from good faith food donors with EU food safety laws.

Jane Ellison: We are advised by the Food Standards Agency (FSA) that consideration was given to whether an exemption from European Union food safety law was available in respect of donations of food for charitable purposes in 2012. The FSA's view at that time was that no exemption is available and as the FSA's advice has not changed it does not consider that any further assessment of the issue is necessary.
	The FSA published guidance on its website in July 2013 on which charitable and community food provision does not require registration. This can be found at:
	http://multimedia.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/hall-provision.pdf
	Food supply not requiring registration is exempt from the requirements of food hygiene legislation although all such provision is still required to provide food that is safe.

Gender Recognition

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients are waiting for gender reassignment surgery; and what the average waiting time for such surgery was in each of the last four years.

Norman Lamb: Information about how many patients are waiting for gender reassignment surgery and average waiting times for such surgery is not held centrally.

General Practitioners

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what correspondence he has received on concerns over the potential closure of GP surgeries in the last year.

Daniel Poulter: A search of the Department’s ministerial correspondence database has identified 410 items of correspondence received since 1 June 2013 about concerns over the potential closure of general practitioner surgeries. The cost of a more comprehensive search would incur a disproportionate cost to the Department.

General Practitioners

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to ensure GPs are accessible to patients.

Daniel Poulter: Through the Prime Minister's Challenge Fund, more than 7.5 million people in England will start to be offered increased access to local general practitioner (GP) services, including seven-day opening and appointments outside of office hours. The Fund is supporting over 1,110 practices covering every region as part of a pilot scheme.
	The PM Challenge Fund is for one year and patients are expected to see positive changes from services from June/July onwards. An interim evaluation report is due in November this year. The full and final report is expected to be published in the early part of 2015-16. There will be a rolling programme of feedback on the pilots with case studies available from the summer onwards to help spread best practice across the country.
	In addition, the new GP contract introduced a new Enhanced Service, which includes a commitment to same day phone consultations with a professional in the GP surgery where necessary for the most at risk in the population.

General Practitioners

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department issues on the ratio of GPs to patients; and what that ratio is in Tendring.

Daniel Poulter: The Department does not issue guidance on the ratio of general practitioners (GPs) to patients. It is for each GP practice to ensure they are able to provide services to all their patients as set out in their contract with NHS England.
	The ratio of GPs to patients in Tendring is not collected centrally. Figures for North East Essex Clinical Commissioning Group, which includes the district of Tendring, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Patients per full-time equivalent GP All GPs full-time equivalent per 100,000 population 
			 North East Essex 1,715 60.8 
			 Source: The Health and Social Care Information Centre General and Personal Medical Services Statistics; Office for National Statistics: Mid-Year Population Estimates

General Practitioners

Douglas Carswell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to train and recruit more GPs in (a) Linton and Walton and (b) nationally.

Daniel Poulter: The Department set up Health Education England (HEE) to deliver a better health and health care work force for England. HEE is responsible for ensuring a secure work force supply for the future balancing need against demand, taking into account factors such as the age profile of the existing work force, the impact of technology and new drugs.
	The Department has recognised the need to increase the general practitioner (GP) work force and between September 2010 and September 2013, the number of full-time equivalent GPs has risen by 1,051. Additionally, the Department has included in the HEE mandate a requirement that
	“HEE will ensure that 50% of trainees completing foundation level training enter GP training programmes by 2016”.

General Practitioners

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the proportion of patients who were able to see their preferred GP in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Daniel Poulter: Data from the most recent GP Patient Survey found that 55% of patients have a particular general practitioner (GP) that they usually prefer to speak to or see. Of those, 61.7% of respondents said they could see or speak to their preferred GP ‘always or almost always’ or a ‘lot of the time’.

Health Services: Reciprocal Arrangements

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reason callers to NHS England’s EHIC renewal line are assumed to agree to data-sharing if they do not hang up, whilst other Government Departments require legal data-sharing gateways.

Jane Ellison: The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) administers the EHIC (European health insurance card) application system and telephone line.
	Applicants for EHIC cards are asked to agree to share their application details for the purpose of validating EHIC applications and claims (for which information is shared with the Department for Work and Pensions and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) and in order to prevent and detect fraud and errors (for which information may be shared with NHS Protect and the Department of Health—International Division). The agreement of customers to share their data is sufficient under the Data Protection Act. No personal medical or clinical data is shared as part of this process.
	Callers to the EHIC telephone service are assumed to agree to share their application details. We acknowledge that the current telephone message advising callers about data sharing could be clearer. The NHS BSA has undertaken that they will not share any further EHIC data which is gathered through the telephone service, until the message has been updated.

Health: Business

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 486W, on health: business, whether he plans to make an assessment of the overall (a) number and (b) proportion of those companies which are meeting all of the pledges they have signed up to.

Jane Ellison: Details of our Responsibility Deal partners, the pledges they have committed to taking action on, their delivery plans and annual updates are all readily available on the Responsibility Deal website at:
	https://responsibilitydeal.dh.gov.uk/partners/
	This information is published in full and the Department does not therefore publish an assessment of partners’ achievements under the pledges.

Health: Business

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 486W, on health: business, what assessment his Department makes of the annual updates; and what estimate he has made of the number of hours of officials' time spent assessing those updates.

Jane Ellison: Officials review annual updates to Responsibility Deal pledges on receipt and liaise with partners directly if any clarification is required.
	The Department does not record separately the time spent on reviewing annual updates to the Responsibility Deal.

HIV Infection

Mike Freer: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost per patient was of antiretroviral therapy for HIV in the latest year for which figures are available.

Jane Ellison: This information is not collected. In 2012-13, the national health service in England spent an estimated £630 million on HIV services, including treatment. Approximately 60,721 people in England received NHS HIV treatment and care services in 2012.

Magnetic Resonance Imagers

John Woodcock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what records his Department holds on numbers of magnetic resonance imaging scans being undertaken on behalf of the NHS at zoological or veterinary premises.

Jane Ellison: The Department holds no information on the number of magnetic resonance imaging scans undertaken on behalf of the national health service at zoological or veterinary premises.
	Arrangements for deciding the most appropriate way for individual patients to access NHS services based on their clinical needs is for local determination.

Medical Records: Disclosure of Information

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he has taken to ensure that patient data extracted under care.data shared with countries inside the European Economic Area cannot be shared outside that area.

Daniel Poulter: The Data Protection Act 1998 allows personal data to be transferred to countries within the European Economic Area (EEA) on the same basis as transferring data within the United Kingdom. Personal data can only be sent to a country or territory outside the EEA if an adequate level of protection for the rights and freedoms of individuals when processing their personal data is ensured.
	Every application for information will be considered by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC), in line with the Data Protection Act, taking account of their location if it is outside the UK.
	Recipients of data from the HSCIC must agree to certain terms and conditions of use, i.e. a data sharing contract, before any data are disclosed. Those terms and conditions include measures intended to safeguard the use of information that may identify individuals, including:
	limiting the use of information to a specific purpose, which must also be both legitimate, compatible and shared only for the benefit of the health and social care system;
	prohibiting onward disclosure of information to an additional organisation;
	ensuring the security of the data once they are in the possession of another organisation that applied successfully for the data; and
	the right of HSCIC to audit where it is suspected the terms and conditions have not been complied with.
	The HSCIC announced on 17 June 2014 that a new, strengthened audit function will monitor adherence to data sharing agreements and halt the flow of data if there are any concerns exposed. This will include scrutiny of how the data are being used and stored by those receiving it. This will also monitor that data have been deleted when an agreement comes to the end. Any failure on the part of data users to abide by their agreements will entail no further release of data to them.

Monitor

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether guidance issued by Monitor is mandatory for NHS England to follow.

Jane Ellison: It is the National Health Service (Procurement, Patient Choice and Competition) (No.2) Regulations 2013 that place requirements on NHS England, including requirements as to good practice in relation to procurement.
	Enforcement of the procurement requirements by Monitor may only follow its investigation of a complaint that there has been a failure by a commissioner to comply with the requirements. Guidance issued by Monitor on the regulations, including guidance issued in April, provides advice for commissioners on compliance with the regulations.

NHS: Disclosure of Information

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps the Government are taking to ensure that hospitals do not discourage whistleblowing by staff; and if he will take steps to issue a UK NHS-wide policy on that matter.

Daniel Poulter: We have been absolutely clear that national health service staff who speak out in the interests of patient safety must be protected and listened to and that we expect all NHS organisations to have whistleblowing policies in place that are compliant with the Public Interest Disclosure Act 1998. On 5 March this year, the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), wrote to chairs in NHS trusts and foundation trusts in England to express his strong views on this matter and to reiterate the vital importance of fostering a culture of openness and transparency in the NHS.
	In addition, the Department recently commissioned the Whistleblowing Helpline to update whistleblowing guidance for the NHS. This revised guidance “Raising Concerns at Work—Whistleblowing Guidance for workers and employers in Health and Social Care” was published on 17 March 2014. This guidance transparently sets out the policies and processes for staff and employers in a single document and is available via their website or as a hard copy. This guidance can be found on their website:
	www.wbhelpline.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/Raising-Concerns-at-Work.pdf
	Employment law and policy (of which whistleblowing law and policy is a part), and health law and policy, are devolved matters in Northern Ireland. In Scotland and Wales employment law is not devolved, but health law is. Decisions about implementation of whistleblowing policy in the NHS in each part of the United Kingdom are therefore a matter for each of those areas.

NHS: Negligence

Geraint Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funds have been provided from his departmental expenditure limit to meet the costs of (a) clinical negligence and (b) NHS litigation in this financial year.

Daniel Poulter: £1.2 billion has been budgeted by the National Health Service Litigation Authority for the current 2014-15 financial year. £1.1 billion of this is allocated to clinical negligence, by far the most significant proportion of which is funded by members’ contributions, rather than allocated directly from the Department’s expenditure limit.

Nurses: Redundancy

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many registered nurses were made redundant by each NHS health trust in England in 2013.

Daniel Poulter: The number (headcount basis) of qualified nursing staff made redundant, from national health service trusts, during 2013 is estimated in the following table.
	In November 2013 there was a record full-time equivalent number of qualified nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff in the NHS of 312,900.
	The 489 redundancies represent just 0.14% of the total qualified nursing workforce in hospitals and community health services.
	The data used in this reply have been extracted from the Electronic Staff Record (ESR) Data Warehouse which is a monthly snap shot of the live ESR system. This is the human resources and payroll system that covers all NHS employees other than those working in general practice, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and organisations to which functions have been transferred, such as local authorities. ESR was fully rolled out across the NHS in April 2008. The ESR data used in this response are not centrally validated and their reliability is subject to local coding practice.
	Redundancies are identified as those individuals with a reason for leaving of either voluntary or compulsory redundancy. Only those individuals coded as qualified nurses, midwives or health visitors are included in the figures. Only redundancies from NHS Trusts are included in these figures; it is possible that qualified nurses were also made redundant from other NHS bodies.
	ESR reports based on the current organisation structure. This means that if organisations merged during 2013 it is possible that redundancies from, now defunct, organisations are recorded as being from the newly created organisation.
	
		
			 Organisation 2013 nursing redundancies (headcount) 
			 2gether NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Avon And Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust — 
			 Barking Havering And Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust — 
			 Barts Health NHS Trust — 
			 Birmingham And Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust 12 
			 Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Bolton NHS Foundation Trust 8 
			 Bradford District Care Trust — 
			 Bridgewater Community Healthcare NHS Trust — 
			 Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust — 
			 Calderdale And Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust 7 
			 Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust — 
			 Camden And Islington NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Central Essex Community Services — 
			 Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust — 
			 Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Cheshire And Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 City Healthcare Partnership — 
			 Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust — 
		
	
	
		
			 Countess Of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Coventry And Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust 6 
			 Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 12 
			 Devon Partnership NHS Trust — 
			 Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust 7 
			 Ealing Hospital NHS Trust — 
			 East And North Hertfordshire NHS Trust — 
			 East Coast Community Healthcare Cic — 
			 East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust — 
			 East London NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Guys And St Thomas NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Harrogate And District NHS Foundation Trust 6 
			 Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust — 
			 Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Humber NHS Foundation Trust 6 
			 Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust — 
			 Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust — 
			 Kent And Medway NHS And Social Care Partnership Trust 5 
			 Kent Community Health NHS Trust 5 
			 Kettering General Hospital NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Lancashire Care NHS Foundation Trust 11 
			 Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust — 
			 Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust 5 
			 Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Liverpool Community Health NHS Trust — 
			 Liverpool Womens NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Locala Community Partnerships — 
			 Manchester Mental Health And Social Care Trust 5 
			 Mersey Care NHS Trust — 
			 Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust — 
			 NHS Direct NHS Trust 139 
			 Norfolk And Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Norfolk And Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust 31 
			 North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus — 
			 North East London NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust — 
			 Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust 6 
			 Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust 26 
			 Northumberland Tyne And Wear NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust — 
			 Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust — 
			 Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust — 
			 Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Plymouth Community Healthcare Cic — 
			 Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust — 
			 Rotherham Doncaster And South Humber NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Royal Bournemouth And Christchurch Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Royal Devon And Exeter NHS Foundation Trust — 
		
	
	
		
			 Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Royal Liverpool And Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust — 
			 Royal National Hospital For Rheumatic Disease NHS Foundation Trust 6 
			 Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust — 
			 Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Sandwell And West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust 5 
			 Sheffield Health And Social Care NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Shropshire Community Health NHS Trust 5 
			 Solent NHS Trust 7 
			 South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 South London And Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust 6 
			 South London Healthcare NHS Trust — 
			 South Staffordshire And Shropshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 South West London And St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust — 
			 South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 6 
			 St Georges Healthcare NHS Trust — 
			 Staffordshire And Stoke On Trent Partnership NHS Trust — 
			 Surrey And Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust — 
			 Sussex Community NHS Trust — 
			 Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust 5 
			 The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust 6 
			 University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Warrington And Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 West Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust — 
			 York Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust — 
			 Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust — 
			 Total 489 
			 “—“ Indicates fewer than 5. Note: Organisations not listed made no eligible redundancies during 2013. Source: Electronic Staff Record Data Warehouse.

Nursing and Midwifery Council

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if he will bring forward proposals to financially assist nurses employed by the NHS to pay the increased fee for the Nursing and Midwifery Council when they come into force later in 2014;
	(2)  what discussions Ministers in his Department have had with the Nursing and Midwifery Council on its proposals to increase professional fees for nurses by £20 per annum later in 2014.

Daniel Poulter: The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) is an independent body and it is therefore for the NMC Council to determine the level of the annual fee it charges for registration. On 26 March 2014, the NMC Council reviewed the level of this fee and agreed a proposal to increase it from £100 per annum to £120 in March 2015. The NMC is running a public consultation between 8 May and 31 July 2014, where its proposal is open to scrutiny. No decision on the proposed fee increase has been made at present.
	Ministers keep the issue of professional regulation under regular review and the Department has frequent contact with professional regulators, including the NMC. On 12 March 2014, I met with representatives of the NMC for a regular update meeting. This meeting was not specifically set up to discuss the NMC registration fee, but during this meeting the NMC provided information about its fee review process.

Parkinson's Disease

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department is taking to ensure that clinicians making individual funding requests for Parkinson's disease medication are informed of the outcome within 40 days; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps his Department is taking to reduce the time and resources that clinicians spend on administering individual funding requests for treatments of Parkinson's disease and other progressive conditions; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what recent assessment his Department has made of the (a) prevalence of additional health problems experienced by people with Parkinson's disease due to delays in receiving Duodopa and (b) costs incurred by the NHS as a result of such delays; and if he will make a statement.

Norman Lamb: We have made no such assessment.
	From April 2013, NHS England assumed responsibility for commissioning adult specialist neurosciences services, including the majority of services for patients with Parkinson’s disease, with some being the responsibility of clinical commissioning groups.
	NHS England has advised that it does not routinely fund Duodopa (co-careldopa) for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease and is currently considering its clinical policy.
	Clinicians can submit individual funding requests for this treatment on behalf of their patients as per NHS England’s individual funding requests standard operating procedure, which is at:
	www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/cp-04.pdf
	This process is monitored against the standard operating procedure to ensure that referring clinicians are informed of outcomes in a timely manner.
	Once the commissioning position relating to this service area is agreed and service access criteria published, NHS England has advised that the number of individual funding requests from clinicians may reduce.

Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what payments his Department has made to the devolved administrations as a consequence of rebates paid to it under the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme in each of the last three years.

Norman Lamb: The following table provides details of payments made to the devolved administrations under the Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) for the last three complete financial years.
	
		
			 PPRS payments made by the Department of Health to the devolved administrations in resource terms 
			 £000 
			  Northern Ireland Scotland Wales 
			 2011-12 3,388.4 6,218.8 3,464.7 
			 2012-13 2,998.8 7,562.1 4,077.5 
			 2013-14 2,852.5 6,865.2 3,827.8 
			 Source: Department of Health

Plastic Surgery

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many NHS-funded cosmetic surgeries have been performed in each of the last four years; and what estimate he has made of the (a) number and (b) proportion of those surgeries which were not based on a mental health need.

Daniel Poulter: This information is not available in the format requested.

Public Health England

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) amount and (b) proportion of Public Health England's marketing budget has been allocated to each of the six big ambitions referred to in its 2014-15 business plan.

Jane Ellison: The core Public Health England (PHE) marketing budget for 2014-15 is £53 million. The allocation to each of the six big ambition areas is as follows:
	
		
			 Ambition Campaign Budget for 2014-15 (£) Percentage of total budget 
			 Tobacco Smokefree 11,689,200 21.72 
			 Obesity Change 4 Life 9,360,000 17.39 
			 Dementia Vascular dementia programme and dementia friends 5,460,000 10.14 
			 Best start in life Start4Life and Information Service for Parents 3,450,000 6.41 
			 Alcohol Alcohol 2,000,000 3.72 
			 Tuberculosis (TB)  0 0.0 
			 Total  31,959,200 59.38 
		
	
	The current assessment of the evidence shows that a national marketing campaign on TB would not be a cost effective investment so there is no marketing budget allocation to this ambition area.
	In addition to the individual campaign costs stated above an additional £3.3 million is also spent on call centres and £2.6 million is also spent on infrastructure costs such as evaluation. The final budget will be subject to clearance by the Cabinet Office’s Efficiency and Reform Group.
	PHE’s 2014-15 Marketing strategy is due for publication in early July and will provide more detailed information on the full marketing programme.

Public Health England

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what (a) amount and (b) proportion of Public Health England's total budget has been allocated to (i) tobacco, (ii) obesity, (iii) alcohol, (iv) TB, (v) dementia and (vi) the Best Start in Life strategy for 2014-15.

Jane Ellison: Public Health England’s (PHE) financial reporting is currently based upon the directorates and teams around which their work is focused. The six areas of focus identified in the parliamentary questions are currently supported by individuals and teams across PHE’s various directorates (Operations, Health Protection, Health and Wellbeing, Knowledge etc.), so the total cost of each of the above areas cannot currently be accurately provided.
	During the course of 2014-15, one of the priorities identified by PHE’s finance team is to enhance and tailor their inherited financial reporting arrangements so that it can report on their activities and priorities as well as its Directorates and teams. PHE will be able to provide this information in the future, but it is unfortunately not available now. Once PHE has developed new financial reporting arrangements they will ensure that this is published transparently.

Radiotherapy

Tessa Munt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  with reference to the answer of 24 March 2014, Official Report, column 132W, on radiotherapy, what reports he has received on the reasons NHS England has paid for Gamma Knife treatment at University College Hospital London (UCHL) for a patient with an acoustic neuroma referred to UCHL from Bournemouth and Poole Hospital;
	(2)  pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2014, Official Report, column 61W, on radiotherapy, what reports he has received of the reasons NHS England has paid for gamma knife treatment at University College Hospital London for a patient referred there from Plymouth Derriford Hospital by James Palmer, NHS England's Clinical Director of Specialised Commissioning.

Jane Ellison: For reasons of patient confidentiality, it is not possible to comment explicitly on either case referred to. However, any primary care trust authorisations made for the gamma knife prior to 1 April 2013 were honoured by NHS England and the invoice associated with the agreed work was paid. University College London Hospitals (UCLH) was required to forward any referrals made after 1 April 2013 to NHS England, along the prescribed pathway, in accordance with the contract between the two. No invoices for work carried out by Queen's Square Radiotherapy Centre at its own risk on behalf of UCLH have been paid by NHS England for referrals after 1 April 2013.

Research

Julian Huppert: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much his Department has spent from its research and development budget over the last five years; and how much such spending is planned for (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Daniel Poulter: Revenue expenditure from the Department’s research and development budget is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			 2009-10 885 
			 2010-11 960 
			 2011-12 952 
			 2012-13 985 
			 2013-14 11,004 
			 2014-15 21,077 
			 1 Provisional. 2 Planned. 
		
	
	A budget figure for 2015-16 has not yet been set. This will happen as part of standard business planning later in the year.

Sexually Transmitted Infections

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what progress has been made on the development of the HIV/STI national clinical audit; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the current timetable is for the development of the HIV/STI national clinical audit;
	(3)  how many expressions of interest from eligible providers to develop the HIV/STI national clinical audit NHS England has received to date.

Jane Ellison: The Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP) commissions and manages the National Clinical Audit and Patient Outcomes Programme on behalf of NHS England. The HQIP has asked for expressions of interest from suitable providers who are able to design and complete a one-year feasibility study to inform any future national clinical audit of HIV and sexually transmitted infections. The contract for the work will be awarded this summer. NHS England cannot disclose the number of expressions of interest that have been received at this stage as this is commercially sensitive information.

Sugar

Luciana Berger: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 12 June 2014, Official Report, column 293W, on sugar, what discussions he has had and what representations he has received on including sugar in the list of ingredients that companies should work with caterers to reformulate in meals as part of the H4 pledge on Healthier Staff Restaurants; and what response his Department gave in each such case.

Jane Ellison: There have not been any discussions or representations made to the Secretary of State for Health, my right hon. Friend the Member for South West Surrey (Mr Hunt), or any departmental officials, on including sugar in the list of ingredients that companies should work with caterers to reformulate in meals as part of the H4 Responsibility Deal pledge on Healthier Staff Restaurants.
	There are 169 organisations currently signed up to the H4 pledge which includes a requirement for employers to work with caterers to reformulate recipes to ensure staff meals are lower in fat, salt and energy.
	In addition, 11 catering companies have signed up to take a range of actions to help people consume fewer calories, including through reformulation to reduce sugar content.

TREASURY

Bank Levy

Duncan Hames: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what revenues have been received under the bank levy in each year since its introduction.

Andrea Leadsom: The bank levy, a permanent tax on banks’ balance sheet equity and liabilities, was introduced by this Government from 1 January 2011.
	It raised £1.6 billion in both 2011-12 and 2012-13.
	Following a number of increases to the headline rate, the OBR now forecast it to raise £2.3 billion in 2013-14, £2.7 billion in 2014-15 and £2.9 billion a year from 2015-16.

Chief Scientific Advisers

Liam Byrne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many meetings he has had with his Department's Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months.

Andrea Leadsom: As was the case under previous Administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

Children: Day Care

Catherine McKinnell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance and support (a) HM Revenue and Customs and (b) National Savings and Investment will provide for parents who encounter IT problems during the quarterly reconfiguration process for tax-free child-care; and if he will make a statement.

Nicky Morgan: On 23 May the Government published a further consultation on the delivery of child care accounts within Tax-Free Childcare. The consultation will be open until 27 June and the Government will consider the responses alongside those to the first consultation before it makes its decision on the provision of child care accounts. Following this decision the Government will work with stakeholders to develop guidance to support parents, and assisted approaches will be provided to parents without access to the internet.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance he has given on the role of employers in supporting the uptake and delivery of employer-supported child-care.

Nicky Morgan: HM Revenue and Customs has published extensive guidance to help employers run successful child care schemes, including the Employer Helpbook E18 ‘How you can help your employees with child care’.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps the Government is taking to ensure that child-care providers receive payments from National Savings and Investments on time.

Nicky Morgan: On 23 May, the Government published a further consultation on the delivery of child care accounts within tax-free child care. The consultation will be open until 27 June and the Government will consider the responses alongside those to the first consultation before it makes its decision on the provision of child care accounts.

Children: Day Care

Lucy Powell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what additional burdens the impact assessment identified for childcare providers operating tax-free child-care scheme.

Nicky Morgan: Information on burdens for child care providers associated with the introduction of tax-free child-care can be found in the Impact Assessment:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/318698/document2014-06-10-104244-1.pdf

Coinage

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 1 April 2014, Official Report, column 625W, on coinage, whether he has fixed the dates for the public consultation on the impact of the introduction of a new one pound coin.

Nicky Morgan: The Budget announced that the existing £1 coin will be replaced with a more modern and secure design. After 30 years in circulation, the current coin has become vulnerable to counterfeiting.
	There will be a public consultation this summer that will focus on how to manage impacts on industry and other affected parties. The Government remain committed to this timetable, and to working with industry to minimise costs and disruption.
	The precise dates of the consultation period will be published in due course.

Credit: Interest Rates

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to mandate that APR figures be displayed in cash terms.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government believe it is important for consumers to be able to compare the cost of credit products easily.
	The consumer credit directive (CCD) requires the APR to be stated in pre-contract credit information and in the credit agreement itself, as well as in advertising where triggered. In addition, firms must state the total amount payable (TAP), which is the sum of the amount borrowed and the total charge for credit (TCC).
	As the CCD is full harmonisation in the relevant areas, it is not open to member states to require disclosure of the TCC in addition—although the consumer can work this out as the difference between the TAP and the amount borrowed. Lenders can also include the TCC on a voluntary basis.
	As previously shared with the Public Accounts Committee, the Government raised the issue of how to present cost information with the European Commission as part of its current review into the implementation of the CCD.

Delegated Legislation

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps his Department takes to ensure that delegated legislation brought forward by his Department is consistent with EU directives.

Nicky Morgan: In 2010, this Government committed to ensuring the effective implementation of EU legislation so that British businesses are not put at a disadvantage relative to their European competitors.
	This Department follows the Government’s Guiding Principles for EU legislation, which can be found at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/185626/bis-13-774-guiding-principles-for-eu-legislation.pdf
	HM Treasury is committed to ensuring that no unnecessary legislative burdens are placed on UK businesses when transposing EU law.

Disciplinary Proceedings

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what proportion of staff within his Department who have been subject to formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British;
	(2)  what proportion of staff within his Department who have been dismissed following formal disciplinary proceedings in each of the last five financial years classed themselves as white British.

Andrea Leadsom: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to her on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 433W, by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude).

Dover Priory Station

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how long he expects discussions to be ongoing between Mapeley, Network Rail and HM Revenue and Customs on the sale of land on the western perimeter of the Priory Court site and the construction of new parking facilities for Dover Priory railway station.

David Gauke: Previous replies have explained that further discussions in relation to the land at Priory Court in Dover are a matter for Mapeley who own the land. While HMRC occupy the property under the STEPS contract and will consider any reasonable proposals, resolution of commercial considerations are for Network Rail and Mapeley.

Equitable Life Assurance Society: Compensation

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will take steps to increase the compensation paid to Equitable Life policyholders.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government have no plans to alter the design or rules of the Equitable Life Payment Scheme, including those which relate to the level of payments. Decisions on the level of ex-gratia payments took account of the fiscal situation and wider fairness concerns across all taxpayers. The payments for different types of policyholder were made on the basis of recommendations made by the Independent Commission on Equitable Life Payments.

Financial Markets

Cathy Jamieson: To ask Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to improve regulation of the UK securities market.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government have consistently taken action to improve regulation of financial markets since 2010.
	The Government put in place a new architecture for financial regulation through the Financial Services Act 2012, with the aim of delivering stability, protecting consumers and enhancing the integrity of financial markets. The Financial Policy Committee in the Bank of England is responsible for protecting and enhancing financial stability, while the Prudential Regulation Authority is responsible for the prudential regulation of deposit-takers, insurers and certain investment firms. The Financial Conduct Authority is responsible for protecting consumers, promoting competition, and enhancing integrity in markets.
	Following findings of attempted manipulation of LIBOR in summer 2012, the Government took quick action to make the administration of, and contribution to this key financial benchmark, a regulated activity. Furthermore, on 12 June 2014 the Government announced further steps to raise standards of conduct in the financial system with a joint review by the Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority into the way wholesale financial markets operate. Led by Bank of England Deputy Governor for Markets and Banking, Minouche Shafik, the review will run for 12 months, and will focus on those wholesale markets where the bulk of concerns about misconduct have arisen-fixed income, currency and commodity markets. The Terms of Reference for the Review have been published
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fair-and-effective-markets-review-terms-of-reference/fair-and-effective-financial-markets-review-terms-of-reference

Financial Ombudsman Service

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much funding of the Financial Ombudsman Service came directly from the levy on the Office of Fair Trading licences on consumer credit firms in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013; how this funding will be levied in future; and if he will make a statement.

Andrea Leadsom: The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is an independent, non-governmental body and questions about its funding are a matter for the FOS or, as the case may be, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), who approve the FOS budget and fee rules. This question has been passed on to the FOS, and the FOS will reply directly to my hon. Friend by letter. A copy of the letter will be placed in the Library of the House.

Financial Services

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what steps he is taking to improve regulation of the shadow banking sector;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects of the shadow banking sector on the UK economy;
	(3)  what steps his Department is taking to ensure the stability of the shadow banking sector.

Andrea Leadsom: When appropriately conducted, shadow banking can benefit the economy by increasing the availability of credit to a range of individuals or firms, and provide a valuable alternative to bank funding. It provides credit and liquidity to the real economy and can improve efficiency and drive innovation in the financial system through firms developing expert knowledge in a particular area.
	However, the Government are aware of the risks shadow banking activities pose to financial stability when things go wrong. The crisis showed that some shadow banking entities created pro-cyclical build-ups of leverage, did not fully transfer credit risk, were susceptible to rapid sell-offs, and were very complex. It also became clear that the shadow banking sector had very complex interconnections with the traditional banking system.
	Recognising the need to improve the transparency and supervision of the shadow banking sector, the Government have taken steps to improve the way shadow banking entities are regulated.
	Domestically, the Government have created new Financial Policy Committee (FPC) within the Bank of England to ensure emerging risks and vulnerabilities across the financial system as a whole are identified, monitored and effectively addressed. In September last year, the Committee agreed as one of its medium term priorities the identification and management of potential systemic risks from shadow banking.
	At the international level, the Government are actively supporting the effective regulation of the sector in EU policymaking, and the UK is instrumental in shaping the global regulatory response at the Financial Stability Board.

Income Tax: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what change there was in the numbers of taxpayers in Northern Ireland who had employment income in the last four years for which figures are available.

David Gauke: Estimates for the number of taxpayers in Northern Ireland with income from employment are published in HMRC's National Statistics Table 3.11 which is available at the following internet address for 2010-11 to 2011-12:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-and-tax-by-gender-region-and-country-2010-to-2011
	Table 3.11 for 2009-10 and earlier can be found in the internet address below from the National Archives website:
	http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20120609145917/http://hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_distribution/menu-by-year.htm#311
	These estimates are based on the Survey of Personal Incomes for which 2011-12 is the latest year available. Figures for 2008-09 are not currently available.

Insolvency

Richard Fuller: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many times HM Revenue and Customs has met with (a) the Ministry of Justice and (b) the Insolvency Service to discuss the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 reforms to insolvency litigation on creditors since 2012.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs regularly meet with other Departments as a matter of course.

Insurance: Unfair Practices

Jim Shannon: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent steps the Government are taking with banks and credit card companies to ensure PPI repayments are made in full.

Andrea Leadsom: It is important that consumers get the redress which they are due. Ensuring that banks provide appropriate redress for their customers is a matter for the independent regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
	The Government are supportive of action taken by the FCA to recompense customers for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) and prevent cases of mis-selling in the future through regulatory action. The FCA has stated that it is keeping a close eye on how the industry handles all PPI complaints and will be quick to challenge anything it thinks is unfair.
	I have asked the FCA to write to the Member in more detail about action being taken in regard to PPI. A copy of the response will be placed in the Library of the House.

Minimum Wage: Northern Ireland

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many people are employed in the HM Revenue and Customs national minimum wage enforcement team based in Belfast; and how many complaints have been reeived by the Pay and Work Rights helpline relating to Northern Ireland-based employers in each year since 2010.

David Gauke: The Government take the enforcement of the national minimum wage (NMW) very seriously. HMRC reviews every complaint that is referred to it by the Pay and Work Rights Helpline. In addition, by collating and analysing data received from various sources, HMRC ensures targeted enforcement through robust risk assessment processes to identify employers across the United Kingdom who are more likely to be not paying NMW.
	HMRC deploys resources to risk, so work relating to a specific geographical area may not always be undertaken by the NMW team based in that area. In addition, the NMW Dynamic Response Team (DRT) provides a multi-agency response to emerging risks, high profile casework and compliance initiatives across the UK.
	Responsibility for the administration of the Pay and Work Rights Helpline (PWRH) sits with the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS). At present, the PWRH is not able to provide aggregated information on calls relating to specific locations.

Minimum Wage: Northern Ireland

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps HM Revenue and Customs has taken to to tackle the problem of employees being paid below the minimum wage in Northern Ireland.

David Gauke: I refer the hon. Member to my answer provided previously to his question of 30 April 2014, Official Report, column 725W.

Money Advice Service and Financial Ombudsman Service

Peter Bottomley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the expected increase in the fees and levies on regulated consumer credit firms that will go towards the funding of the Money Advice Service and Financial Ombudsman Service in (a) 2015, (b) 2016 and (c) 2017 under the new Financial Conduct Authority regulated fees and levies regime.

Andrea Leadsom: The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) consumer credit regulatory regime is far better resourced and has wider objectives than the previous Office of Fair Trading (OFT) regime. The FCA is an independent, non-governmental body, and it is entirely funded by the fees it charges on the financial services industry. As a result, specific questions around fees are a matter for the FCA.
	The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) is funded by a combination of industry levy and case fees. The FOS is an independent, non-Governmental body and questions about its funding are a matter for the FOS or, as the case may be, the FCA (who approve the FOS budget and fee rules). The FOS budget is proposed by FOS annually and approved by the FCA.
	The Money Advice Service's (MAS) budget is proposed by MAS annually, based on demand for money and debt advice, and approved by the FCA. Consumer credit firms will pay the MAS levy once authorised by the FCA. The FCA has approved MAS's 2014-15 budget, but MAS's budget for future years has not yet been determined.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Andrew George: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many applications for the Help to Buy scheme have been received in respect of Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly from applicants who (a) reside in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly and (b) do not reside in either place.

Andrea Leadsom: The Government publish quarterly official statistics relating to the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee scheme. The first of these were published on 29 May 2014.
	This report, along with accompanying tables, can be found at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-to-buy-mortgage-guarantee-scheme-quarterly-statistics-october-2013-to-march-2014
	The Government have also recently published statistics on the completions supported by the Help to Buy: equity loan scheme. Full statistics covering the period April 2013 to March 2014 have been published as well as the number of completions, by local authority, to April 2014:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-and-help-to-buy-newbuy-statistics-april-2013-to-march-2014
	www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/help-to-buy-equity-loan-scheme-monthly-statistics
	Under both the Help to Buy: mortgage guarantee and the Help to Buy: equity loan schemes borrowers need to declare that the property will be their sole residence.

Revenue and Customs

Richard Fuller: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many complaints have been made about HM Revenue and Customs in each of the last five years; and how many such complaints related to mistakes in calculated tax liability.

David Gauke: The following table shows the number of complaints received by HM Revenue and Customs (excluding the VOA) for each of the years 2009-10 to 2013-14. The figure for 2013-14 will be published in the HMRC Annual Report later this month.
	
		
			  Number of complaints 
			 2009-10 71406 
			 2010-11 76721 
			 2011-12 74831 
			 2012-13 67956 
			 2013-14 64729 
		
	
	HMRC’s complaints database does not currently distinguish between complaints about mistakes in calculated tax liability from mistakes in other functions. HMRC is developing a robust process for learning from customers’ complaints which aims to reduce or eliminate mistakes made.

Revenue and Customs: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the last assessment was carried out of the perceived community background of HM Revenue and Customs staff recruited in Northern Ireland in the last 10 years.

David Gauke: HMRC assesses annually the community background information relating to its Northern Ireland staff. This is done as part of the annual reporting arrangements to the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and helps inform HMRC's Equality Analysis work and Northern Ireland Equality Scheme.

Tax Avoidance

Charlie Elphicke: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy that public sector organisations should not be allowed to be associated with tax avoidance schemes.

David Gauke: “Managing Public Money”, is published by HM Treasury and provides advice and guidance to central Government on the use of public funds. It confirms that public sector organisations should not engage in tax evasion, or tax avoidance.

Tax Avoidance: Northern Ireland

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment HM Revenue and Customs has made of changes in the extent of (a) fuel smuggling and (b) other organised revenue avoidance schemes in Northern Ireland in the last three years.

Nicky Morgan: Estimates of the non-UK duty paid market for petrol and diesel fuels in Northern Ireland are published in ‘Measuring Tax Gaps 2012-13’. The non-UK duty paid estimate covers both the illicit market and cross border shopping. These estimates cannot be disaggregated into its component parts or by the type of illicit activity e.g. through smuggling or other fraud.
	The excise duty losses due to the non-UK duty paid diesel market for 2010-11 were £110 million and for 2011-12 were £120 million. The excise duty losses due to the petrol non-UK duty paid market for 2010-11 were £30 million and for 2011-12 were £30 million. Figures for 2012-13 will be published in the autumn.
	The information on other organised revenue avoidance schemes in Northern Ireland is not available. The figures cannot be disaggregated by country. UK figures are available from “Measuring Tax Gaps 2012-13”.
	The methodologies for producing the estimates are provided in the ‘Methodological Annex for Measuring Tax Gaps 2013’.
	Both documents can be accessed via the following page on the HMRC website:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/statistics/tax-gaps.htm

Tax Evasion

Dominic Raab: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many prosecutions have been brought for tax offences in each year since 2008-09.

David Gauke: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is not a prosecuting authority. Where cases do proceed to the criminal courts, the prosecution is carried out by the relevant independent prosecuting authority. This is the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in England and Wales, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) in Scotland, and the Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland (PPSNI).
	Please note that figures for tax evasion exclude those cases prosecuted for money laundering, other prohibitions and restrictions and other non-fiscal offences.
	We can provide the following information in respect of totals of tax evasion prosecutions.
	
		
			  Total number of persons prosecuted for tax evasion 
			 2010-11 372 
			 2011-12 501 
			 2012-13 739 
			 2013-14 880 
		
	
	HMRC is not able to supply a time series of full year prosecution decisions and convictions resulting from their criminal investigations for years up to 2009-10. Complete, comparable data are only available from 2010-11 onwards.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.

Andrea Leadsom: HM Treasury do not use 0845, 0844 or 0830 telephone numbers.

Wind Power

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid under the Enterprise Initiative Scheme to members of each qualifying wind farm co-operative in each of the last three years.

Nicky Morgan: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Developing Countries: Carbon Emissions

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make it her policy to support the adoption of a target to introduce instruments and incentives for investments in low-carbon solutions in infrastructure, industry and other sectors in Open Working Group negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Justine Greening: We have already been clear that we agree with the importance of instruments and incentives for investments in low-carbon solutions in infrastructure and industry, and welcome consideration of these in the Open Working Group discussions on the SDGs.
	The final targets in the post-2015 development framework will however be subject to international negotiations in the United Nations, in which the UK will play an active role.

Developing Countries: Carbon Emissions

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make it her policy to support the adoption of a target to integrate climate adaptation and emissions reductions into development plans and poverty reduction strategies in Open Working Group negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals.

Justine Greening: The UK supports integrating climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies into development plans and poverty reduction strategies. This language is included in the most recent draft goals and targets list released by the co-chairs of the Open Working Group (OWG) on 2 June.
	The final targets in the post-2015 development framework will be subject to international negotiations in the United Nations, in which the UK will play an active role.

Developing Countries: Sanitation

Naomi Long: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps her Department is taking to ensure that the post-2015 development framework includes a sustainable development goal on water and sanitation that includes universal access to sanitation by 2030.

Lynne Featherstone: The UK Government are committed to supporting 60 million people to gain access to sustainable water, sanitation and/or hygiene services in the developing world. We are on track to achieve this target.
	The UK supports the inclusion of universal access to sanitation as a target under a water related goal. This language is included in the most recent draft goals and targets list released by the co-chairs of the Open Working Group (OWG) on 2 June.
	The final targets in the post-2015 development framework will however be subject to international negotiations in the United Nations, in which the UK will play an active role.

Girl Summit

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development whether Ministers from the devolved Administrations have been invited to the Girl Summit co-hosted by the Prime Minister and UNICEF on 22 July 2014.

Justine Greening: I confirm that Ministers from the devolved Administrations are being invited to Girl Summit 2014.

India and Pakistan

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what programmes and projects her Department funds which aim to promote trade and transit between India and Pakistan.

Alan Duncan: Through the South Asia Regional Trade and Integration Programme, DFID is working with the World Bank and Asian Development Bank to promote trade in the region. This includes support to modernise procedures and infrastructure at the Wagah border post between India and Pakistan (to reduce transit times and business costs), and to develop an electricity connection between the two countries.
	In Pakistan, DFID is also supporting, through the World Bank, the development of a regional trade strategy with India, advice to small and medium enterprises on cross-border trading, and innovative youth programmes aimed at reducing trade barriers between Pakistan and India.
	Finally, the tri-departmental conflict pool is providing support to increase co-operation and dialogue between the Governments and the public and private sectors of both countries on trade liberalisation.

Indian Subcontinent

Jim Murphy: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development 
	(1)  what recent discussions she has had with regional organisations in Pakistan and neighbouring countries about honour killings;
	(2)  what recent discussions she has had with non-governmental organisations in Pakistan and neighbouring countries about honour killings;
	(3)  what recent discussions she has had with her counterparts in Pakistan and neighbouring countries about honour killings.

Justine Greening: Following the brutal murder of Farzana Parveen in Lahore on 27 May, I raised this issue at various levels in the Government of Pakistan. The Foreign Secretary and senior HMG officials in Pakistan have also publically and privately condemned the appalling crime of ‘honour killings’ and called for immediate action to bring the culprits of the 27 May attack to justice.
	HMG regularly engage with the Government and civil society in Pakistan on women’s rights and violence against women, including so-called 'honour killings'. Across DFID’s programmes in Pakistan we are helping women and girls to live healthy and secure lives.

Kashmir

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what (a) unilateral, (b) bilateral and (c) multilateral projects her Department is sponsoring in Kashmir.

Alan Duncan: UK aid to Kashmir is largely delivered through national programmes in Pakistan and India which the UK helps fund. This includes support to promote economic growth, improve maternal and new born health and increase access to education. The tri-departmental conflict pool also funds joint programmes in Kashmir, supporting conflict prevention and peace building.
	It is not possible to disaggregate our multilateral support to Kashmir.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Bahrain

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will make representations to the Government of Bahrain about the death of Syed Mahmood.

Hugh Robertson: We are concerned about the death of Syed Mahmood on 21 May 2014. The Ministry of Interior has launched an investigation and we await their findings. We urge the Government of Bahrain to ensure the investigation is thorough, transparent and timely.

Chief Scientific Advisers

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many meetings he has had with his Department's chief scientific adviser in the last 12 months.

Hugo Swire: I have regular meetings with the Department's chief scientific adviser in my capacity as Foreign and Commonwealth Office Science Champion. However, as was the case under previous Administrations, details of these internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

India and Pakistan

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions (a) he and (b) Ministers in his Department have had with their (i) Indian and (ii) Pakistani counterparts on the increase of trade and transit between the two countries.

Hugo Swire: Ministers engage regularly with their counterparts in both India and Pakistan to discuss these and many other issues. We welcome the recent meeting between the countries two Prime Ministers in Delhi and subsequent exchange of letters.

Iran

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether he has made any representations to the Iranian Government on (a) the need to respect trade union rights and International Labour Organisation conventions and (b) the detention and abuse of Shahrokh Zamani.

Hugh Robertson: Independent unions and labour organisations have been heavily repressed in Iran, and many members have been jailed or harassed. The UK has repeatedly called on Iran to fulfil its international and domestic obligations to allow freedom of expression to all Iranians.
	We are aware of the detention of Shahrokh Zamani, a member of the Founding Board of the Syndicate of Paint Workers of Tehran, who was sentenced to prison for “acting against national security by establishing and or being a member of groups opposed to the system”. The UK has called for Iran to release all political prisoners.

Iran

Robert Buckland: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the progress made by the President of Iran towards granting greater civil rights to religious minorities; and if he will make a statement.

Hugh Robertson: The UK welcomed President Rouhani’s comments in 2013 that all Iranians, including religious minorities, should “feel justice.” Unfortunately, there has been little noticeable change in the approach taken by Iran’s security and judicial authorities.
	The UK has repeatedly called on the Iranian Government to end all persecution of individuals on the basis of their faith, and to guarantee the human rights of all Iranians.

Iraq

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent offers of assistance his Department has made to the Government of Iraq.

Hugh Robertson: The UK was the first to deploy a team to assess the humanitarian situation following the Islamic State in Iraq and Levant's attack on Mosul. On 14 June 2014 the Department for International Development (DFID) announced £3 million of emergency assistance to help around 500,000 displaced Iraqis, and a further £2 million was allocated on 17 June.

Italy

David Winnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent complaints he has received on the handling of correspondence on passport delays by HM ambassador to Italy.

David Lidington: I am not aware of complaints on the handling of correspondence by our ambassador in Rome. Passport renewal is the responsibility of Her Majesty's Passport Office under the responsibility of Home Office Ministers. Any related correspondence received in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is therefore transferred to that Office for response.

Peacekeeping Operations

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which UN peacekeeping missions established since 1990 do not have a human rights mandate.

Mark Simmonds: 21 out of 51 peacekeeping missions established since 1990 did not include a human rights mandate to monitor and intervene. Of these 21, only the Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO) is still in operation.
	Human rights mandates or components in peacekeeping missions vary depending on the context, and are common in newer peacekeeping missions. The UK Government have supported these human rights mandates wherever possible. This is part of our broader efforts to mainstream human rights into the UN's peace and security work.

South Asia

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much funding his Department allocated to the Conflict Pool for South Asia in each of the last three years.

Mark Simmonds: The Conflict Pool is part of an HMT settlement which is distinct from departmental budgets. It is tri-departmentally managed by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Ministry of Defence, and the Department for International Development. In financial year 2013-14, the South Asia allocation was £20 million. In the two preceding years, it was £15.5 million per annum. The allocation for this financial year will be laid before Parliament shortly in a written ministerial statement.

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department in the last parliamentary Session did not receive a substantive answer by the time of the 2014 prorogation; and when each such question was first tabled.

David Lidington: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office received 2,331 Commons written questions in the 2013-14 Session. All received a substantive answer before Prorogation. Questions tabled just before Prorogation, which had invalid notice periods, were not able to be answered.

HOME DEPARTMENT

Asylum

Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she is taking to speed up claims by asylum seekers.

Karen Bradley: Claims for asylum are increasing. In 2013 the number of asylum applications within the EU was the highest it has been since 2002. The UK has experienced an increase of 30% between 2010 and 2013—with an 8% increase between 2012 and 2013 alone.
	We are committed to resolving these quickly, while continuing to improve the quality of our decision-making, and we are making changes to our processes and management to make sure we do so.

Bovine Tuberculosis

Chris Williamson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what discussions her Department has had with the National Farmers Union on the details of the injunction relating to protestor activities around the badger culls scheduled to take place in Gloucestershire and Somerset in 2014.

Damian Green: Home Office officials have had discussions with officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the National Farmers Union about the use of civil injunctions, in the context of a broader engagement with both organisations, on the badger culling activity for 2014.
	Home Office officials have had discussions with officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the National Farmers Union about the use of civil injunctions, in the context of a broader engagement with both organisations, on the badger culling activity for 2014.

Disclosure of Information

Diana Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department who within her Department authorised the passing of information about forthcoming proscription orders to The Sun newspaper; and whether that authorisation was agreed by a Minister or special adviser in her Department.

James Brokenshire: No Minister or special adviser at the Home Office authorised the release of information about the forthcoming proscription to The Sun newspaper.
	I have written in response to the point of order reiterating that we take parliamentary business very seriously and always seek to follow Mr Speaker’s preference that the House is informed first of the Home Secretary’s intention to proscribe terrorist groups. This was our intent on this occasion.

Driving Offences: Insurance

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many vehicles were seized by the police as a result of being driven without insurance in (a) Dartford constituency and (b) England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Damian Green: The Home Office does not hold this information.
	The police have the power under the Road Traffic Act 1988 to seize vehicles driven without insurance. Enforcement of vehicle seizures is an operational matter for the police.

Entry Clearances

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many family visas were granted (a) in each year since 2011 and (b) in the current year up to the latest available quarter for which figures are available; and what the (i) category of family visa and (ii) UK nation of residence of the sponsor of each such visa was.

Karen Bradley: The available information requested is given in the following table:
	
		
			 Family entry clearance visas issued, by category. 
			 Visa category 2011 2012 2013 Q1 2014 (January to March) 
			 Family: Partner 33,496 30,411 23,557 6,825 
			 Family: Child 97 85 73 16 
			 Family: Other 4,306 3,710 4,233 1,591 
			 Family: Partner (for immediate settlement) 1,336 1,097 1,084 176 
			 Family: Child (for immediate settlement) 4,596 4,001 3,844 726 
			 Family: Other (for immediate settlement) 1,892 1,588 899 296 
			      
			 Total 45,723 40,892 33,690 9,630 
			 Source: Immigration Statistics, January - March 2014, Before Entry Volume 2, table be_01_q 
		
	
	The Home Office publishes quarterly statistics on entry clearance visa grants by category in table be_01_q (Before Entry tables volume 2) within the ‘Immigration Statistics' release. The numbers are broken down by nationality in table be_06_q_f (Before Entry tables volume 4). It is not possible to separately identify those granted visas under the old family rules and those granted visas under new family rules implemented on 9 July 2012.
	A copy of the latest release, ‘Immigration Statistics January - March 2014' is available from the Library of the House and from:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/home-office/series/immigration-statistics-quarterly-release
	The figures provided relate to family members issued visas in the family immigration route. Statistics on the dependants of migrants issued visas in other routes, such as the Points Based System, can be found within the published data at the above link.
	The information requested in part (ii) on the UK nation of residence of the sponsor of each of the family visas of interest is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Furthermore, not all sponsors are based in the UK and not all individuals granted a visa in the family route have a sponsor.

Marriage

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department has given to local authorities about churches and same sex marriage.

Karen Bradley: Guidance on how to certify a building for religious worship and register for the solemnization of marriages was issued on 18 February 2014 by the General Register Office and is available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/281332/D0550_F78L.pdf
	The guidance sets out the different options that are available for places of worship and registration for the solemnisation of marriage. Registration of individual places of worship takes place through local registration services attached to local authorities and they are expected to adhere to the guidance.

Modern Slavery Bill

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she expects to respond to the recommendations of the Report by the Joint Committee on the draft Modern Slavery Bill by the time of Second Reading of that Bill.

Karen Bradley: The Government’s response to the report from the Joint Committee on the draft Modern Slavery Bill was published on 10 June 2014. Copies of the report are available in the House Library. The response was also published on the gov.uk website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/draft-modern-slavery-bill--2

Police Community Support Officers

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers there were in (a) Coventry, (b) Coventry North East constituency, (c) the West Midlands and (d) England in each of the last five years.

Damian Green: The following table contains the requested data for police community support officers in:
	(a) Coventry Basic Command Unit, from 31 March 2009 to 31 March 2011. Figures at basic command unit level ceased to be collected from then to reduce the administrative burden on the police.
	(b) figures for Coventry North East constituency are not collected by the Home Office.
	(c) (d) The West Midlands police force, the West Midlands region and England, from 31 March 2009 to 30 September 2013.
	
		
			 Number of full-time equivalent1 police community support officers in Coventry2, West Midlands and England, 2009-13 
			  Coventry Basic Command Unit West Midlands Police Force West Midlands Region3 England 
			 31 March 20094 107 812 1,463 15,802 
			 31 March 20104 106 811 1,466 16,200 
			 31 March 2011 100 758 1,395 15,134 
			 31 March 2012 — 711 1,300 13,578 
			 31 March 2013 — 681 1,255 13,136 
			 30 September 20135 — 656 1,213 12,425 
			 1 This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been presented to the nearest whole number. 2 Figures at basic command unit level ceased to be collected from 31 March 2012 following Lord Wasserman's recommendation that the administrative burden on police forces be reduced. 3 West Midlands Region includes the following police forces: Staffordshire, Warwickshire, West Mercia and West Midlands. 4 Figures for Coventry basic command unit for 31 March 2009, 2010 and 2011 are the sum of West Midlands M1, West Midlands M2 and West Midlands M3 basic command units. 5 Latest published figures. Source: Home Office

Radicalism

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance her Department has provided to local authorities (a) to help understand the threat from extremism and (b) relating to statutory powers available to them to challenge extremist speakers.

Karen Bradley: The Home Office provides ongoing support for local authority Prevent co-ordinators funded by the Home Office in priority areas (currently 30 local authorities, based on assessment of risk), to ensure that they understand the threat of extremism and are equipped to deal with it effectively. This is done through regular regional events, issuing briefings on specific issues, and sharing best practice across different authorities. The police, including police prevent co-ordinators, also work closely with local authorities and share appropriate information with them.
	The Home Office issued advice in 2013 to help local authority prevent co-ordinators manage the challenges posed by extremist speakers. This included an overview of the duties placed upon public bodies under the Equalities Act 2010 and the regulations that events must comply with.
	Additionally, the Department for Communities and Local Government gave Blackburn with Darwen borough council and Luton borough council funding to lead a national special interest group of local authorities across England affected by the activities of the English Defence League and similar groups, which has supported them in sharing knowledge about what works best in tackling extremist groups.

Sovereignty: Scotland

Eric Joyce: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether any UK citizens would involuntarily lose resident citizenship as a result of Scottish independence.

Karen Bradley: In the event of a vote for independence, decisions about UK citizenship would rest with the UK Government; the basis for entitlement to Scottish citizenship would be for the Government of an independent Scottish state to decide.
	The UK has historically been tolerant of plural nationalities, and therefore it is likely that it would be possible for an individual to hold both British and Scottish citizenship. However, under current rules, British citizens living outside the UK cannot pass their British nationality on more than one generation. So, the children of British citizens living in an independent Scotland would be British citizens, but their children and subsequent generations would not be.
	The Government of the continuing UK would also need to consider whether all British citizens living in Scotland could retain their British citizenship upon independence. This cannot be guaranteed and could be dependent on any residence requirements or proof of affinity to the continuing UK. It is not possible to predict now what the decision of a future Government of the continuing UK might be in this area.

HOUSE OF COMMONS COMMISSION

Clerk of the House

Simon Burns: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the criteria were for the choice of members of the panel of selection to consider the appointment of the next Clerk of the House and Chief Executive; and who selected those members.

John Thurso: The selection panel that will consider the appointment of the next Clerk of the House was chosen by Mr Speaker and its composition was considered by the House of Commons Commission at its meeting on 16 June. The criteria for selection of panel members included party balance, gender balance and the need for external independent input.

Committees

Christopher Chope: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, how many meetings of the Audit Committees has been held in each of the previous sessions of the current Parliament; and how many meetings each member has attended.

John Thurso: The House of Commons has two Audit Committees with the same membership, one for each of its Estimates: the Administration Estimate Audit Committee (AEAC) and the Members Estimate Audit Committee (MEAC). The House of Commons Administration Estimate covers the staff of the House and its running costs (the “House of Commons Service”). The Members Estimate covers certain expenditure relating to members such as members pensions and “Short money”.
	Information about the committees’ activities is recorded on the basis of financial year, rather than parliamentary sessions. Both committees met six times during the financial year 2013–14. Committee members’ attendance at these meetings is set out, and was the same for both committees.
	
		
			 Member Total number of meetings attended 
			 Dame Janet Gaymer DBE (Chair) 3/3 
			 Alex Jablonowski (Chair) 3/3 
			 Stephen Brooker 6/6 
			 Angela Eagle MP 0/6 
			 Right hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst MP 6/6 
			 John Thurso MP 5/6 
			 Barbara Scott 5/6 
		
	
	Information on previous financial years is in the committees’ annual reports which are at:
	http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/other-committees/administration-estimate-audit/publications/
	http://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/other-committees/members-estimate-audit/publications/
	Individual members’ attendance has been recorded in the annual reports only since financial year 2011–12. For earlier years this can be derived from the minutes of the meetings, which are also available on the Parliament website.

Palace of Westminster

Mark Hendrick: To ask the hon. Member for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, representing the House of Commons Commission, what the cost to date has been of the contract for the independent assessment of options to take forward a restoration and renewal programme for the Palace of Westminster awarded to Deloitte Real Estate and AECOM together with HOK in December 2013.

John Thurso: The full cost of the independent options appraisal is expected to be £2,423,000, including VAT. The cost incurred to 18 June 2014 was £2,213,000, including VAT, and a sum accrued but not yet invoiced. The cost is shared 60:40 between the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

ATTORNEY-GENERAL

Crime

Emily Thornberry: To ask the Attorney-General if he will place in the Library the numbers of cases of (a) rape, (b) domestic violence, (c) child abuse and (d) human trafficking referred by each police force in England and Wales to each regional division of the Crown Prosecution Service in 2013.

Oliver Heald: Tables have been deposited in the Library of the House showing the number of requests for a charging decision referred to the CPS from each police force split by the categories requested.

Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Attorney-General what estimate he has made of the proportion of cases of domestic and sexual violence that were prosecuted in each of the last five years; and what steps he is taking to increase the prosecution rate for such crimes.

Oliver Heald: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has no data on the total number of incidents of domestic violence and sexual violence that have occurred in each of the last five years and is unable, therefore, to provide an answer to the first part of the question.
	Increasing the number of rape convictions continues to be a priority for the CPS. On 6 June 2014, a Rape Action Plan was jointly published by the police and CPS which sets out a series of actions designed to improve the criminal justice response in rape cases. This followed a Rape National Scrutiny Panel led by the Director of Public Prosecutions and the National Policing lead for rape, which considered the investigation and prosecution of rape cases including their referral from the police to the CPS. The prosecution of domestic violence also remains a high priority for the CPS and prosecutors receive regular training, and are provided with relevant guidance. The Rape Action Plan can be found on the CPS website at:
	http://www.cps.gov.uk/publications/equality/vaw/rape_action_plan.pdf

NORTHERN IRELAND

Bloody Sunday Tribunal of Inquiry

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether invoices for legal or other work carried out in connection with the Savile Inquiry have been submitted for payment since January 2013.

Theresa Villiers: No invoices have been submitted for payment in respect of legal work in connection with the Saville Inquiry. An invoice was submitted in March 2013 for hosting of the inquiry website.

Overseas Trade

Ivan Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what discussions she has had with her ministerial colleagues at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on how the UK's overseas posts may be used more effectively to promote Northern Ireland trade and investment.

Theresa Villiers: I have regular discussions with ministerial colleagues, including in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, on the importance of promoting Northern Ireland trade and investment.
	Our embassies abroad regularly work with InvestNl and the Northern Ireland Executive to assist with trade missions led by Northern Ireland Ministers. I shall be discussing with the incoming UKTI chief executive shortly how best UKTI posts abroad can work even closer with their counterparts in InvestNl.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 her Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.

Theresa Villiers: My Department operates one telephone line with the prefix 0844 for the purpose of updating staff in the event of an emergency situation. Details of the number of calls to this line are not recorded and no alternative number is available at the BT local rate. My Department does not operate or sponsor any telephone lines with the prefix 0845 or 0843.

Terrorism

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 1 May 2014, Official Report, column 762W, on terrorism, what steps she is taking to recover information for the period 1987-97 for which records could not be found; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: The review of departmental records I ordered in May is ongoing.
	This includes seeking information on the use of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM) for the years 1987 to 1997 from Departments where relevant material might be held.

Terrorism

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland who the beneficiaries in Northern Ireland of the Royal Prerogative of Mercy granted by means of a Warrant under the Royal Sign Manual were in the last 25 years; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: As the hon. Member is aware, the assessment of my Department is that to release the names of individuals granted the RPM years ago would not be appropriate, given the time that has passed since the RPM was last used and the potential legal issues this would raise. There are, of course, means by which names of RPM recipients become public, including in the course of legal proceedings, which is a matter for the courts.

World War I

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps she is taking to support the progress of the First World War legacy project in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement.

Theresa Villiers: The Northern Ireland Office sits on the Department for Culture, Media and Sport Programme Board for First World War Centenary commemorations and plays a coordination role in ensuring the Government’s programme for the First World War commemorations is implemented in Northern Ireland in a manner that promotes reconciliation and enhances prospects for a peaceful, shared future. This includes plans to implement the Government’s commemorative paving stones project in the home towns of Victoria Cross recipients.
	I am working closely with the Irish Government to participate in a series of joint commemoration events for the centenary of the First World War, and the wider decade of centenaries.
	My officials also provide support for local centenary commemoration plans by sitting on, and working closely with, the Northern Ireland First World War Centenary Committee chaired by the right hon. Member for Lagan Valley (Mr Donaldson). I receive regular updates on this work and lend it my full support.

PRIME MINISTER

Climate Change: International Cooperation

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Prime Minister if he will attend (a) Ban Ki Moon's Climate Summit in September 2014 in New York and (b) the European Council meeting in October 2014 to finalise the EU's climate and energy goals for 2030.

David Cameron: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas) on 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 176W.
	It is my normal practice to attend Heads of Government EU Council meetings.

SCOTLAND

Official Visits

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

David Mundell: Details of Ministers' visits are published quarterly and can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications

Public Expenditure

Dominic Raab: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent estimate his Department has made of the potential effect of the adjusted funding arrangement in the Scotland Bill on per capita spending in Scotland.

David Mundell: The Scotland Act 2012 provides the Scottish Government and Parliament with new tax and borrowing powers. The effect of these powers on public spending in Scotland will therefore depend on the decisions taken by the Scottish Government and Parliament.

UK Membership of EU

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent assessment he has made of the effects of membership of the EU on jobs in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow and (c) Scotland.

David Mundell: The Government do not collate figures for the number of jobs in Scotland that depend on UK membership of the EU. However, independent analysis published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research in March 2014 suggested that, in 2011, approximately 335,000 jobs in Scotland were associated with Scottish exports to the EU. The analysis was not broken down to the level of individual UK cities or by parliamentary constituency.

UK Membership of EU

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent estimate he has made of the level of investment in (a) Glasgow North West constituency, (b) Glasgow and (c) Scotland that resulted from EU membership in each of the last five years.

David Mundell: The Government do not collate figures for the level of investment in Scotland that results from UK membership of the EU.

UK Membership of EU

Jim Sheridan: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment he has made of the net benefit to people in Scotland of the UK's membership of the EU.

David Mundell: The Government do not collate data which would allow calculation of a net benefit to the people of Scotland arising from the UK's membership of the EU. However, independent analysis published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research in March 2014 suggested that, in 2011, approximately 335,000 jobs in Scotland were associated with Scottish exports to the EU.

CABINET OFFICE

Business Premises: West Midlands

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many small and medium-sized enterprises have premises in (a) Coventry North East constituency, (b) Coventry and (c) the West Midlands.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many small and medium sized enterprises have premises in a) Coventry North East constituency b) Coventry and c) West Midlands.
	The table below has been produced using extracts from the Inter Departmental Business Register (IDBR). It shows the count of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs are defined as enterprises with employment of less than 250) with premises in a) Coventry North East constituency b) Coventry and c) West Midlands in 2013. The figures in the table have been rounded to protect confidentiality. Please note that these numbers do not include very small businesses, typically those below the threshold for VAT and PAYE.
	
		
			 Count of small and medium sized enterprises with premises in a) Coventry North East constituency, b) Coventry, and c) West Midlands, 2013 
			  Number 
			 North East Coventry 2,135 
			 Coventry 7,355 
			 West Midlands 171,025

Conditions of Employment

Chris Ruane: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office which sector of the economy made greatest use of employee contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours in (a) 2010 and (b) the most recent year for which information is available.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which sector of the economy made greatest use of employee contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours in (a) 2010 and (b) the most recent year for which information is available. (201281)
	Estimates of the numbers and characteristics of people in employment on zero-hours contracts are available from the Labour Force Survey (LFS), a survey of people resident in households. The LFS asks people in employment if their job has any flexible working arrangements and, if so, to identify them from a list of employment patterns. "Zero-hours contract" is listed and is described as a contract ‘where a person is not contracted to work a set number of hours, and is only paid for the number of hours that they actually work’.
	Further to this, in January 2014 the ONS undertook a survey of businesses to obtain an employer-based estimate to complement the existing LFS employee-based figure. Results from this survey were published on 30 April 2014:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/lmac/contracts-with-no-guaranteed-hours/zero-hours-contracts/art-zero-hours.html
	This adopted a slightly different definition to the LFS, and reported on the number of employee contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours, which provided work in the survey reference period. This estimate includes, but is not exclusively, “zero-hours contracts” and covers some other contract types that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours.
	According to the LFS for the three-month period October to December 2013, there were an estimated 583,000 people on a zero-hours contract in the UK. For the ONS business survey, there were 1.4 million employee contracts that did not guarantee a minimum number of hours, which provided work in the survey reference period of the fortnight beginning 20 January 2014. This is higher than the LFS figure for a number of reasons:
	i. employers and employees will have differing perceptions and awareness about the types of employment contracts used;
	ii. the employer survey will count employee contracts, not people, and will provide higher estimates (as one person can have more than one contract);
	iii. employers in the business survey may report multiple contracts for each job;
	iv. the questions asked of respondents differed slightly, with the business survey asking about contracts not guaranteeing any hours, while the LFS question uses the term “zero-hours contracts”;
	v. the LFS includes all people in employment (including the self-employed) while the business survey only includes employees.
	As for the original question, information on contracts that do not guarantee a minimum number of hours is available from an ONS survey of businesses carried out in January 2014. Information is not available for earlier years. The business survey showed that the industry which made greatest use of these contracts was Accommodation and Food Services for each of the following measures:
	proportion of businesses using these contracts (45 per cent);
	number of contracts (358,000); and
	proportion of workforce on these contracts (19 per cent).

Debts

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what change there has been in the level of household (a) borrowing and (b) debt since May 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what change there has been in the level of household (a) borrowing and (b) debt since May 2010. (200994)
	The Office for National Statistics publishes details of the combined financial liabilities of households and non-profit institutions serving households (NPISH). NPISH is a relatively small contributor to the sector. The most recent analyses can be found in tables A53 and A64 of the United Kingdom Economic Accounts (UKEA) 2013 Q4, published on 28 March 2014. The UKEA is available on the National Statistics web site at:
	http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/rel/naa1-rd/united-kingdom-economic-accounts/q4-2013/index.html
	Household ‘debt’ can be interpreted as the accumulated ‘Total financial liabilities’ of the household and NPISH sector. These are predominantly made up of short and long term loans. The UKEA shows that for households and NPISH, the combined ‘Total financial liabilities’ in 2013 Q4 was £1,555.0 billion. This compares with a 2010 Q2 figure of £1,530.8 billion. Household and NPISH ‘Total financial liabilities’ have, therefore, risen £24.2 billion between 2012 Q2 and 2013 Q4.
	Household ‘borrowing’ can be interpreted as the ‘Net lending or borrowing’ of the sector. This measures the acquisition of ‘Total financial assets’ less ‘Total financial liabilities’ by the household and NPISH sector within a period. As such, it is not a level but a current budget of the household account.
	If a household is a net lender it has acquired more financial assets than financial liabilities in that period. It is effectively, saving. Likewise, if a household is a net borrower it has acquired more financial liabilities than financial assets in that period. In this instance it is overspending and effectively adding to its debt.
	The UKEA shows that the combined net borrowing in 2013 Q4 was £4.3 billion, meaning that the household and NPISH sector increased its debt on the quarter. The comparable data in 2010 Q2 saw the sector as net lenders of £6.5 billion, meaning in that quarter it reduced its debt. These data are only relative to the quarter prior. In the period between 2010 Q2 and 2013 Q4, the household and NPISH sector were both net lenders and net borrowers on a number of occasions.
	Alternative data for household debt for Great Britain can be obtained from the ONS’ Wealth and Assets survey. Data are currently available for the periods 2008/10 - 2010/12.

Employment: Dartford

Gareth Johnson: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what assessment he has made of the number of people in Dartford constituency in employment in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Glen Watson, dated June 2014
	As Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking about the number of people in Dartford constituency in employment in each of the last five years. (201322)
	The ONS compiles Labour Market Statistics for areas below the UK following International Labour Organisation (ILO) definitions using the Annual Population Survey (APS).
	Table 1 shows the number of people aged 16 years and over who were employed in Dartford constituency. These estimates are compiled from APS interviews held during the period April 2013 to March 2014, the latest available period and the 12 month period ending in March for each of the previous four years.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. A guide to the quality of the estimates is given in the table.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Number of people aged 16 years and over employed in Dartford constituency 
			 12 months ending March: Employment level (Thousand) 
			 2010 51 
			 2011 47 
			 2012 51 
			 2013 49 
			 20141 ***52 
			 1 Coefficients of Variation have been calculated for the latest period as an indication of the quality of the estimates. See Guide to Quality as follows. Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 ≤ CV<5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 ≤ CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 ≤ CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ≤ 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Annual Population Survey

Homeworking

Jim Shannon: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many employed people worked from home in each of the last five years.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated June 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many employed people worked from home in each of the last five years. (201033)
	Estimates of home workers are available from the Annual Population Survey (APS), a survey of people resident in households in the UK.
	The APS follows the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition of employment and then asks respondents who are employees, self-employed, or unpaid family workers whether they work mainly:
	(1) in their own home;
	(2) in the same grounds or building as their home;
	(3) in different places using home as a base;
	(4) Somewhere quite separate from home.
	Those responding either 1, 2 or 3 are classified as ‘home workers’.
	The table provided contains estimates for the total number of persons in employment who are defined as home workers for the period January to December 2009 to 2013. As with any sample survey, estimates from the APS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. It is estimated that the true value for the total number of home workers is likely to be within 2 per cent of the estimate given.
	
		
			 Number of people in employment as home workers January to December each year, 2009-13 United Kingdom 
			  Number of home workers (Thousand) As a percentage of all people in employment 
			 2009 3,673 12.8 
			 2010 3,671 12.8 
			 2011 3,777 13.1 
			 2012 3,951 13.6 
			 2013 4,008 13.6 
			 Source: Annual Population Survey (APS)

Self-employed: Young People

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office how many and what proportion of 16 to 24 year olds declared themselves self-employed in each year between 2008 and 2013.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated June 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many and what proportion of 16 to 24 year olds declared themselves self-employed in each year between 2008 and 2013. (201337)
	The table provides estimates from the Labour Force Survey (LFS) for the number and proportion of people aged 16 to 24 who report themselves as self-employed. Estimates are the period January to March 2008 to 2014 and are not seasonally adjusted.
	As with any sample survey, estimates from the LFS are subject to a margin of uncertainty. These are indicated by the guide to quality in the table.
	
		
			 Number of self-employed people aged 16 to 24. Three months ending March each year, 2008-14. United Kingdom, not seasonally adjusted 
			  All aged 16-24 
			  Self-employed (Thousand) As a percentage of all people in age group 
			 2008 148 2.0 
			 2009 152 2.1 
			 2010 165 2.3 
			 2011 169 2.3 
			 2012 173 2.4 
			 2013 166 2.3 
			 2014 185 **2.6 
			 Guide to Quality: The Coefficient of Variation (CV) indicates the quality of an estimate, the smaller the CV value the higher the quality. The true value is likely to lie within +/- twice the CV—for example, for an estimate of 200 with a CV of 5% we would expect the population total to be within the range 180-220. Key: * 0 ≤ CV <5%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered precise ** 5 ≤ CV <10%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered reasonably precise *** 10 ≤ CV <20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered acceptable **** CV ≤ 20%—Statistical Robustness: Estimates are considered too unreliable for practical purposes CV = Coefficient of Variation Source: Labour Force Survey.

Shared Services Connected

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what recent estimate he has made of potential savings to the public purse from the Shared Services Connected Ltd venture.

Francis Maude: There has been cross-party agreement on the need for Shared Services for a decade but until recently all too little was achieved.
	Independent Shared Service Centres will deliver a lower cost better quality of service, helping us to deliver a faster, smaller and more unified Civil Service.
	Shared Services Connected Ltd will contribute to the savings delivered to the taxpayer by the transformation of back office functions, which will total over £400 million by 2015-16.

Social Security Benefits: Females

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what changes there have been in the claimant count for women claiming for over 12 months since May 2010.

Nick Hurd: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	Letter from Peter Fullerton, dated June 2014
	On behalf of the Director General for the Office for National Statistics (ONS), I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking the Minister for the Cabinet Office what changes there have been in the claimant count for women claiming for over 12 months since May 2010. (201197)
	The ONS compiles data on the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance from the Jobcentre Plus Administrative System.
	Table 1 shows the number of females aged 18 years and over claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance for more than 12 months since May 2010 to May 2014, the latest period available.
	National and local area estimates for many labour market statistics, including employment, unemployment and claimant count are available on the NOMIS website at:
	http://www.nomisweb.co.uk
	
		
			 Table 1: Number1 of females aged 18 years and over claiming jobseeker's allowance for more than 12 months 
			  Number of claimants (thousand—seasonally adjusted) 
			 2010  
			 May 55.8 
			 June 56.6 
			 July 56.5 
			 August 58.2 
			 September 59.2 
			 October 59.1 
			 November 58.6 
			 December 57.9 
			   
			 2011  
			 January 55.7 
			 February 55.4 
			 March 55.7 
			 April 55.9 
			 May 55.9 
			 June 56.3 
			 July 60.6 
			 August 64.2 
			 September 67.5 
			 October 71.9 
			 November 77.0 
			 December 83.0 
			   
			 2012  
			 January 91.5 
			 February 100.3 
			 March 108.8 
			 April 117.7 
			 May 120.9 
			 June 125.8 
			 July 128.2 
			 August 130.0 
			 September 131.7 
			 October 132.0 
			 November 132.3 
			 December 132.7 
			   
			 2013  
			 January 131.9 
			 February 132.7 
			 March 132.5 
			 April2 131.9 
			 May2 131.6 
			 June 20132 133.0 
			 July 20132 132.7 
			 August 20132 131.7 
			 September 20132 130.6 
			 October 20132 129.6 
			 November 20132 129.0 
			 December 20132 126.9 
			   
			 2014  
			 January 20142 123.7 
		
	
	
		
			 February 20142 121.4 
			 March 20142 118.8 
			 April 20142 115.9 
			 May 20142 113.2 
			 1 Computerised claims only. Computerised claims account for 99.8% of all claims. 2 Claimant count figures since April 2013 do not yet include claimants of universal credit. Source: Jobcentre Plus Administrative System.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Beef: Imports

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much beef was imported into the UK from (a) the Republic of Ireland, (b) the rest of the EU and (c) non-EU countries in each of the last 18 months.

George Eustice: The following tables provide details of UK imports of beef and veal as recorded in the Official Overseas Trade Statistics for the period January 2012 to April 2014.
	
		
			 Imports from Irish Republic 
			 Tonnes (Thousand) 
			  2012 2013 2014 
			 January 12.3 12.1 13.3 
			 February 13.7 10.8 12.2 
			 March 14.9 13.0 16.2 
			 April 12.9 11.9 13.5 
			 May 12.5 12.4 — 
			 June 11.8 14.9 — 
			 July 11.3 12.2 — 
			 August 12.4 11.7 — 
			 September 13.8 14.9 — 
			 October 15.0 15.6 — 
			 November 14.0 15.1 — 
			 December 15.1 16.4 — 
			 Annual total 159.7 161.0 — 
		
	
	
		
			 Imports from Non-EU 
			 Tonnes (Thousand) 
			  2012 2013 2014 
			 January 1.6 2.6 2.2 
			 February 1.3 1.7 1.5 
			 March 1.2 1.4 1.5 
			 April 1.4 2.3 2.1 
			 May 2.1 2.6 — 
			 June 3.1 3.5 — 
			 July 2.2 3.5 — 
			 August 2.2 3.1 — 
			 September 1.9 2.8 — 
			 October 2.2 3.5 — 
			 November 2.0 2.5 — 
			 December 1.7 2.0 — 
			 Annual total 23.0 31.7 — 
		
	
	
		
			 Import from rest of EU 
			 Tonnes (Thousand) 
			  2012 2013 2014 
			 January 3.8 3.9 3.4 
			 February 4.1 3.2 3.4 
			 March 4.4 2.9 3.3 
			 April 4.4 3.5 4.1 
			 May 5.3 3.9 — 
			 June 4.3 3.3 — 
			 July 4.8 4.1 — 
			 August 4.7 3.7 — 
			 September 4.2 3.9 — 
			 October 5.1 4.4 — 
			 November 4.4 4.6 — 
			 December 3.8 4.2 — 
			 Annual total 53.4 45.6 — 
			 Source: HM Revenue and Customs 2013 and 2014 data is subject to amendments EU data based on EU 28.

Beef: Imports

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what representations he has received from environmental groups regarding beef consumption and the countries from which the UK imports beef.

George Eustice: As of 19 June, no such representations have been received from environmental groups.

Bovine Tuberculosis

John Howell: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many farms in Henley constituency have been subject to restrictions on cattle movements following a test proving the presence of TB in each of the last three years.

George Eustice: Statistics on TB breakdowns are available only at county and herd level. The following figures show the number of herds restricted as a result of positive bovine TB test results in Oxfordshire in each of the last three years:
	
		
			  Number 
			 2011 30 
			 2012 29 
			 2013 27 
		
	
	Bovine TB statistics are available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/bovine-tb

Chief Scientific Advisers

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how many meetings he has had with his Department’s chief scientific adviser in the last 12 months.

Dan Rogerson: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), meets his chief scientific adviser at least weekly, sometimes more frequently.

Common Agricultural Policy

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the regulatory effect of recent changes to the common agricultural policy on farmers.

George Eustice: In implementing the new Common agricultural policy (CAP) in England a number of decisions have been taken around how the budget should be spent.
	In October 2013 DEFRA published an evidence paper alongside the consultation on CAP reform. This assessed the overall impact of the new CAP and the associated decisions being consulted on in England:
	https://consult.defra.gov.uk/agricultural-policy/cap-consultation
	Throughout the consultation period we actively sought further evidence, and further analysis took place. Further assessments of impacts on farmers, the rural community and DEFRA delivery bodies were made, and the findings of these have been included in publications setting out government decisions. These include:
	The December 2013 Government response to the consultation, which included estimates of the aggregate impact of changes to Pillar 1 on Farm Business Income:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/common-agricultural-policy-reform-implementation-in-england;
	A draft impact assessment of the new Regional Development Programme for England, published in December 2013 and updated in June 2014:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/319445/rdpe-ia-201406.pdf;
	The Government decision on the moorland rate including an assessment of impact on farmers, published by DEFRA in May 2014:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/common-agricultural-policy-reform-implementation-in-england
	and
	The Government decisions on cross-compliance together with a summary of the evidence, published by DEFRA in June 2014:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/common-agricultural-policy-reform-implementation-in-england
	We will continue to publish further evidence as final CAP implementation decisions are made.

Drinking Water: Contamination

Jim Dobbin: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer 196584 of 6 May 2014, Official Report, column 41W, on drinking water, what plans his Department has to test for the levels of tranquillisers and antidepressants in drinking water; and if his Department will conduct a study into levels of psychotropic drugs in UK river and seawater.

Dan Rogerson: In 2012, the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI) published research looking at pharmaceuticals likely to present the worst case scenario in drinking water. Fluoxetine was included in the study, the outcome of which was that these pharmaceuticals presented no concern for public health. The research is part of an ongoing risk assessment which is revisited in the event of new information. The DWI has also responded to the earlier PQ (0019) on this matter.
	Monitoring river water and seawater is driven by requirements under the EU water framework directive (WFD). As psychotropic drugs have not been identified as harmful chemicals under the WFD they are not routinely monitored, although they may be detected in less specific investigations.
	The water industry has undertaken collaborative research into chemicals in sewage effluent through the UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) Chemicals Investigation Programme. Some medicines were included in the first programme of 2010-13, including fluoxetine. A second Chemical Investigations Programme, beginning in 2015, will look at the psychoactive medicines fluoxetine and sertraline in sewage effluent.

Floods

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether garages, boiler rooms and other non-habitable areas affected by flooding are eligible for the repair and renew grant.

Dan Rogerson: The repair and renew grant is available to establish resilience and resistance measures in properties to minimise the risk of damage caused by flooding. As it stands, the grant only applies to homes and businesses affected by flooding and excludes non-habitable areas.

Floods: Christchurch

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when he expects work to all properties identified by the Environment Agency in Christchurch constituency as being suitable for Property Level Protection against flooding to be completed.

Dan Rogerson: As part of schemes funded through local levy and flood defence grant in aid, work to protect 10 properties in the Mudeford and Stanpit area is planned for 2015.
	Property-level protection measures were installed at 12 properties in Stony Lane, Christchurch earlier this year.

Food: Packaging

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what recent discussions he has had with food suppliers to encourage them to reduce excess packaging; and if he will make a statement.

Dan Rogerson: The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the right hon. Member for North Shropshire (Mr Paterson), has not had recent discussions with food suppliers specifically about packaging. I spoke at the Fresher for Longer conference in February this year, and the Government are working with food manufacturers and retailers to reduce food waste as part of the Courtauld Commitment, which is targeting a further reduction of 1.1 million tonnes of food and packaging waste by 2015. We encourage the use of a minimum level of packaging that protects products from damage and ensures that it maintains its quality during its shelf life.

Food: Recycling

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much food waste was recycled by each district and metropolitan local authority in (a) 2011, (b) 2012 and (c) 2013.

Dan Rogerson: The number of local authorities in England carrying out separate food waste collections has increased from 69 in 2010-11 to 89 in 2012-13. In addition, 79 authorities collected and recycled a ‘combined mixed garden and food waste’ in 2012-13.
	The following table shows the amount of separately collected food waste that was recycled by each authority, excluding the amount rejected at collection or rejected at the gate by processors. Between 2010-11 and 2012-13 the total amount of food waste that was separately collected and recycled increased by 86% from 134,000 to 249,000 tonnes.
	
		
			 Amount of food waste recycled 
			 Tonnes 
			 Authority 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 
			 Aylesbury Vale District Council — — 4,005 
			 Bath and North East Somerset Council 2,389 4,296 3,902 
			 Bexley LB — 134 268 
			 Braintree District Council — 2,037 4,478 
			 Brentwood Borough Council — 540 1,162 
			 Bristol City Council — 461 10,176 
			 Broadland District Council 824 797 797 
			 Bromley LB 6,964 2,960 11,147 
			 Calderdale MBC 5,844 5,349 5,041 
			 Central Bedfordshire 2,165 3,974 3,817 
			 Chelmsford Borough Council 4 1,588 3,812 
			 Cheltenham Borough Council — 3,129 2,641 
			 Cheshire West and Chester — — 6,052 
			 City of London 218 176 105 
			 Corby Borough Council — — 693 
			 Council of the Isles of Scilly 20 19 18 
			 Croydon LB 210 6,034 10,503 
			 Daventry District Council — 320 1,131 
			 Derbyshire Dales District Council — — 848 
			 Dorset Waste Partnership — 265 2,336 
			 Dover District Council — 2,092 3,806 
			 Ealing LB 4,936 5,175 4,715 
			 East Devon District Council 4,571 5,210 4,398 
			 East Lindsey District Council — — 1,281 
			 East Northamptonshire Council — — 2,067 
			 Eastleigh Borough Council 2,425 2,248 2,147 
			 Elmbridge Borough Council 4,004 3,535 3,420 
			 Epsom and Ewell Borough Council 2,150 1,847 2,032 
			 Forest of Dean District Council — — 2,000 
		
	
	
		
			 Gloucester City Council 796 2,788 2,386 
			 Guildford Borough Council 4,288 3,905 3,719 
			 Hackney LB 1,459 1,517 1,781 
			 Harborough District Council 1,448 1,313 681 
			 Harlow District Council 3,671 3,439 3,199 
			 Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council 76 — — 
			 Hounslow LB 3,080 3,071 2,981 
			 Isle of Wight Council — — 2,988 
			 Islington LB 174 147 154 
			 Knowsley MBC 800 887 669 
			 Lambeth LB 625 682 320 
			 Leeds City Council MBC 1,007 939 841 
			 Leicestershire County Council 150 286 231 
			 Luton Borough Council 505 428 401 
			 Maidstone Borough Council 948 5,523 5,007 
			 Maldon District Council — — 1,497 
			 Manchester City Council MBC 658 215 5 
			 Mendip District Council 2,886 3,087 2,937 
			 Merton LB 2,274 3,142 3,933 
			 Mole Valley District Council 1,614 2,049 2,014 
			 Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council 2,419 3,214 2,949 
			 North Devon District Council 7,680 5,192 — 
			 North Somerset Council 4,265 6,983 6,884 
			 Northampton Borough Council — 642 3,647 
			 Norwich City Council 673 2,410 2,309 
			 Nottingham City Council 1,064 807 — 
			 Oldham MBC 805 — — 
			 Oxford City Council 1,328 1,470 1,970 
			 Pendle Borough Council 363 191 — 
			 Peterborough City Council — — 2,249 
			 Preston City Council 461 579 533 
			 Reigate and Banstead Borough Council — — 2,712 
			 Richmond upon Thames LB 1,709 2,591 3,887 
			 Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames 5,213 4,938 4,566 
			 Runnymede Borough Council 410 2,499 2,233 
			 Salford City Council MBC — 341 — 
			 Sandwell MBC — 2,765 6,553 
			 Sedgemoor District Council 3,056 4,288 3,873 
			 Sefton MBC 3,065 2,720 2,343 
			 Shepway District Council — 2,708 3,535 
			 Shropshire 360 — — 
			 South Gloucestershire Council 1,947 5,426 5,034 
			 South Hams District Council — 59 105 
			 South Oxfordshire District Council 1,871 5,378 5,033 
			 South Ribble Borough Council 107 42 — 
			 South Somerset District Council 6,026 5,781 5,236 
		
	
	
		
			 Southend-on-Sea Borough Council 3,107 3,096 3,070 
			 Spelthorne Borough Council — 1,059 2,077 
			 Suffolk Coastal District Council 23 76 11 
			 Surrey Heath Borough Council 3,346 3,215 3,149 
			 Sutton LB 145 134 121 
			 Tandridge District Council — — 1,577 
			 Taunton Deane Borough Council 4,040 3,674 3,489 
			 Telford and Wrekin Council 100 111 — 
			 Tendring District Council — — 2,320 
			 Tewkesbury Borough Council 2,954 2,859 2,619 
			 Torbay Council 993 3,392 3,321 
			 Tower Hamlets LB — 44 — 
			 Uttlesford District Council 3,761 3,895 3,324 
			 Vale of White Horse District Council 1,903 5,238 4,650 
			 Waveney District Council 90 377 640 
			 Waverley Borough Council 308 477 2,783 
			 West Devon Borough Council 1,100 1,839 1,720 
			 West London Waste Authority — — 741 
			 West Oxfordshire District Council 1,414 3,713 3,402 
			 West Somerset District Council — 571 1,123 
			 Westminster City Council 64 8 — 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council — — 882 
			 Woking Borough Council 2,975 3,093 2,971 
			 Wolverhampton MBC 677 3,552 3,951 
			 Wychavon District Council 1,087 897 817

Food: Waste Disposal

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps he is taking to enforce the waste hierarchy in managing food waste and to prioritise prevention and redistribution for human consumption ahead of anaerobic digestion and composting.

Dan Rogerson: In accordance with the waste hierarchy, voluntary agreements with business and the Waste and Resources Action Programme’s (WRAP’s) Love Food Hate Waste Campaign encourage action by households, food manufacturers, retailers and the hospitality and food service sectors to prevent food waste.
	If surplus food cannot be prevented, the next best option is to ensure it is redistributed for human consumption, and I have met with a number of companies and organisations which are looking at innovative ways to redistribute food.
	The Courtauld Commitment 3 supply chain target includes action on both prevention and redistribution. This dual target approach encourages redistribution as the most desirable route for any surplus food suitable for human consumption. DEFRA convened a ministerial round table in July 2012 and requested WRAP to lead an industry working group to follow up on recommendations. As a key output of the group, WRAP has recently published research, guiding principles and good practice case studies to help industry take action. Further information is available at:
	http://www.wrap.org.uk/content/foodredistribution
	There will always be some unavoidable food waste. The Government’s Anaerobic Digestion Strategy is in place to reduce the amount of organic material going to landfill and drive the waste that is produced into energy recovery or recycling.

Forestry Commission

Maria Miller: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what powers the Forestry Commission has to (a) impose fines, (b) restore woodland and (c) take other enforcement action where a landowner has carried out deforestation contrary to the Forestry Act 1967.

Dan Rogerson: Only the courts have the power to impose fines on people convicted of felling trees without a licence where one is required under the Forestry Commissioners' Power to control felling of trees in Part II of the Forestry Act 1967 (as amended). This can be up to £2,500 or twice the value of the trees, whichever is the higher.
	Where it appears to the Forestry Commissioners that somebody has committed an offence by felling trees without a licence where one is required, the Commissioners can serve them with a Restocking Notice requiring the area to be restocked. Failure to comply with the requirements of a Restocking Notice can result in an Enforcement Notice being issued. It is an offence not to obey an Enforcement Notice, which can mean a possible fine of up to £5,000.
	Where deforestation accompanied by a change of land use has not received the required consent and has a significant impact on the environment, the Forestry Commission can, under the provisions in The Environmental Impact Assessment (Forestry)(England and Wales) Regulations 1999, issue an Enforcement Notice requiring the land to be restored to its condition before the work started.

Forests

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what progress his Department has made on placing the public forest estate on a sustainable footing; and if he will make a statement.

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans he has to bring forward legislative proposals to reform the public forest estate in the present parliamentary session.

Dan Rogerson: I refer the hon. Members to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Bristol East (Kerry McCarthy) on 17 June 2014, Official Report, column 516W.

Mangoes

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs from which countries other than India the import of mangoes to the EU is banned.

Dan Rogerson: None. The ban only applies to mangoes from India.

Mangoes

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether any phyto-sanitary and plant-disease expertise from the UK has been involved in helping to address the shortcomings identified by the EU Commissioner necessitating the recent ban on importation of mangoes from India.

Dan Rogerson: DEFRA’s Food and Environment Research Agency (Fera) has offered to deliver a technical training programme for Indian plant health inspectors to help address some of the issues raised in the previous European Commission’s Food and Veterinary Office (FVO) audits of the Indian plant health export certification systems. A plant health and seeds inspector from Fera will also be assisting the FVO when it undertakes its audit visit to India in September.

DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER

Electoral Register

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what progress has been made in rolling out Individual Electoral Registration across the country.

Greg Clark: Individual Electoral Registration was launched in England and Wales, as planned, on 10 June 2014. This included the introduction of on-line registration. IER is due to be launched in Scotland on 19 September. The roll out of IER is proceeding as planned, to date.

Local Government: Tees Valley

Tom Blenkinsop: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister if he will place in the Library a copy of the Tees Valley City Deal.

Greg Clark: All City Deals are available on:
	www.gov.uk
	A copy of the Tees Valley City Deal has been placed in the Library of the House.

Polling Stations: Schools

Richard Burden: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister how many schools in England and Wales were closed for the local and European elections on 22 May 2014.

Greg Clark: The information requested is not held centrally.

Sovereignty: Scotland

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister 
	(1)  what costs have been incurred under each cost heading for the production and postage of anti-Scottish independence pamphlets to be sent to every home in Scotland;
	(2)  how much has been spent under each cost heading by the Government in relation to the Scottish independence referendum.

Greg Clark: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Angus (Mr Weir), on 19 June 2014, Official Report, column 667W.

Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014

John Robertson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister what discussions he has had with charities on implementation of the Transparency of Lobbying, Non-party Campaigning and Trade Union Administration Act 2014 since that act received Royal Assent.

Greg Clark: The Electoral Commission is producing guidance to explain the rules on non-party campaigning. The commission has held four roundtable discussions for charities and other campaigners across the UK and Electoral Commission officials have spoken at events hosted by charity sector umbrella bodies.
	The commission will publish its full guidance on the new rules in the summer, in advance of the regulated period which starts on 19 September 2014.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Deputy Prime Minister with reference to the Cabinet Manual, paragraph 5.38, whether the convention that the House of Commons should have an advance opportunity to debate significant military action applies to the deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles outside Afghanistan when operated from RAF Waddington.

Greg Clark: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Armed Forces, my right hon. Friend the Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois) to PQ 198710.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Broadband

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what estimate he has made of the number of homes in the UK served by fibre to the home broadband services.

Edward Vaizey: Ofcom monitors and publishes broadband coverage data for the UK indicated in its 2013 UK fixed broadband market report that superfast broadband was available to 73% of UK premises. Ofcom did not, however, publish a separate figure for the number of homes with fibre to the home broadband services.

Hundred Years’ War: Anniversaries

Jim Dowd: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what plans he has put in place to commemorate the 600th anniversary of the Battles of Harfleur and Agincourt.

Helen Grant: The previous Secretary of State, the right hon. Member for Basingstoke (Maria Miller), announced in October last year a commitment of £10 million of funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund for projects marking some of the UK's most important anniversaries and commemorative events including Agincourt 600. This will ensure that those moments which form a central part of our national history are commemorated and understood by people today.

National Lottery: Arts

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much lottery funding and from which year is being committed to Arts Council England's national portfolio organisations and national partner museums as part of their overall settlement for the period 2015 to 2018.

Edward Vaizey: DCMS allocates 13.956% of lottery income to Arts Council England. It is for the Arts Council to make decisions about how to allocate this funding, and to which organisations. The Arts Council is currently finalising how it will allocate funding from 2015-16 onwards, and is due to make an announcement on 1 July.

National Lottery: Arts

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which Arts Council England strategic programmes are designed specifically to address the national lottery directions issued in 2007.

Edward Vaizey: Lottery distributors, including Arts Council England, are required to take account of directions issued under section 26 (1) of the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. It is for the Arts Council to determine how best to do so in designing its strategic programmes.

National Lottery: Arts

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what Arts Council England strategic funding programmes funded from the National Lottery are designed wholly or primarily to benefit national portfolio organisations and national partner museums.

Edward Vaizey: Arts Council England makes its funding decisions, and establishes its funding programmes, independently of Ministers and Government. It seeks to ensure that its funding programmes support a wide range of arts organisations and museums. There are no strategic programmes funded through the National Lottery exclusively for national portfolio organisations or national partner museums.

Public Libraries

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how much was made available for purchasing public library items in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14;
	(2)  how many electronic workstations were made available in each public library per thousand population in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14;
	(3)  what proportion of public libraries replenished their full lending stock within eight and a half years in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14;
	(4)  how many visits per thousand of the population were made to each public library’s website in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14;
	(5)  what proportion of public libraries with a catchment area of more than 40,000 resident population were open at least 45 hours per week in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14;
	(6)  whether National Public Library user surveys are still being taken.

Edward Vaizey: The detail requested is not held centrally by this Department. However, the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) collect, annually, from the individual library authorities comprehensive information relating to library service provision in the United Kingdom, which includes data relating to the questions raised. Copies of CIPFA statistics are available in the House Library.

Public Libraries

Helen Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  how many public libraries were open at least five hours per week outside 9am to 5pm on weekdays in each of the years (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14;
	(2)  for what proportion of time public library service points were unavailable to visitors because of (a) emergency closures and (b) missed or cancelled mobile library stops in each of the years (i) 2010-11, (ii) 2011-12, (iii) 2012-13 and (iv) 2013-14;
	(3)  what proportion of public libraries open for more than 10 hours a week provided access to online catalogues in (a) 2010-11, (b) 2011-12, (c) 2012-13 and (d) 2013-14.

Edward Vaizey: The detail requested is not held centrally by this Department and nor is it collected by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy as part of the annual public library statistics provided by individual library authorities.

Tourism

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment has been made of the likely effects of the Government's proposed Deregulation Bill on jobs in tourism.

Helen Grant: At present, local authorities are required to set term and holiday dates for only about 30% of secondary schools and 70% of primary schools (around half of all registered pupils). The Deregulation Bill gives more schools the flexibility to make changes should they wish to, although the experience of the academies programme, foundation schools and voluntary aided (church) schools, suggests that only a small percentage of schools are likely to vary their term dates where there is a compelling benefit to pupils' education.
	The Department for Education has assessed the impact of the changes. Whilst there will be greater flexibility for schools, we will continue to expect that sensible conversations between the local authority and schools on co-ordination will take place. Local authorities have told the Department for Education that they will continue to co-ordinate term dates for schools as they do now. Variations to term dates could also help businesses and employers, for example, in areas of high-seasonal employment where employees may welcome the chance to holiday outside of peak tourist periods. For example, Bishop Bronescombe School in St Austell, has a two-week half term in May/June to accommodate parents' seasonal employment patterns.
	A separate assessment of the specific impact on tourism-related jobs has not been carried out. The Department for Education has discussed the changes to this policy with a variety of tourism industry bodies-including ABTA and BALPPA.

UNESCO

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will place in the Library a copy of his Department's response to the letter of 2 May 2014 from Mr Kishore Rao, the Director of the UNESCO Culture Sector, World Heritage Centre.

Edward Vaizey: DCMS has not issued a formal response to the letter of 2 May 2014. The letter has been passed to the planning authorities as part of that process.

World Heritage Sites: South West

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what steps his Department is taking to ensure that the Dorset and east Devon coast continues to enjoy World Heritage status and remains in compliance with Article 4 of the World Heritage Convention; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: The Dorset and east Devon coast world heritage site continues to enjoy world heritage status and it is not currently under threat. The UK Government take their responsibilities to conserve world heritage sites very seriously. The planning systems in place provide robust processes for assessing the potential impact of proposals on heritage assets and dealing appropriately with them.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Natural Gas: Imports

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will estimate the potential reduction in gas imports from the roll-out of ground-source heat pumps.

Gregory Barker: I have not made such an estimate. However, we expect the impact of ground-source heat pump (GSHP) deployment on gas imports to be negligible.

Nuclear Power Stations: Safety

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the timetable is for the next periodic safety review of each of the UK's nuclear power stations; whether an environmental impact assessment is required as part of the periodic safety review procedure; and what opportunities exist for public involvement in such reviews.

Michael Fallon: The timetable for the next periodic safety reviews of each of the operating nuclear power stations is included in the table. The nine stations are the seven advanced gas-cooled reactor (AGRs) sites, the single pressurised water reactor at Sizewell B and the remaining operating Magnox reactor at Wylfa.
	
		
			 Station Submission to ONR ONR decision date 
			 Hinkley Point B/Hunterston B January 2016 January 2017 
			 Dungeness B January 2017 January 2018 
			 Hartlepool/Heysham 1 January 2018 January 2019 
			 Heysham 2/Torness January 2019 January 2020 
			 Sizewell B January 2024 January 2025 
			 Wylfa October 2013 September 2014 
		
	
	An environmental impact assessment is undertaken by each licensee covering the radiological impact of routine discharges. Such assessments are carried out separate to the PSR submitted to ONR by the licensee under Licence Condition 15, and are regulated by the appropriate UK environmental agency—the Environment Agency, Scottish Environmental Protection Agency, or Natural Resources Wales—in each case.
	While there is no legal requirement for public involvement in PSRs, the decision of whether to include public involvement is taken at the discretion of each station licensee. ONR completes an assessment of the licensee’s submission prior to the decision date to ensure it meets the expectations set out in its guidance and that it provides an adequate demonstration of the future safe operation of the plant—see ONR guidance at:
	www.onr.org.uk/periodic-safety-review/
	www.onr.org.uk/operational/tech_asst_guides/ns-tast-gd-050.pdf

Wind Power: Seas and Oceans

Robert Syms: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the radioactive forcing from the increase in carbon dioxide concentration will be over the lifetime of Navitus Bay (a) if the project goes ahead and (b) if the project does not go ahead.

Gregory Barker: The Department does not undertake analysis or hold information of this nature relating to specific developments.

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department in the last parliamentary Session did not receive a substantive answer by the time of the 2014 prorogation; and when each such question was first tabled.

Gregory Barker: None. All questions in the last parliamentary Session received a substantive answer.

EDUCATION

Academies: Capital Investment

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what criteria were used to assess bids made under the 2014-15 Academies Capital Maintenance Fund; and if he will make a statement.

David Laws: We received bids for the Academies Capital Maintenance Fund for 3,300 projects from 2,015 academies and have so far made awards to 1,134 academies, including six academies in the hon. Member’s constituency.
	The criteria used to assess bids were set out in the guidance for the scheme. We assessed each eligible application against these weighted criteria. The guidance can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/academies-capital-maintenance-fund-round-1-information
	Guidance for the second round of the fund, which is aimed at academies opened since December 2013, has been published. The online application system will be launched shortly. We will announce future arrangements for maintenance funding in due course.

Academies: Land

Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Education with reference to the answer of 14 May 2014, Official Report, column 635W, on schools: land, in what circumstances he (a) would and (b) would not exercise his powers to protect public land when an academy closes entirely.

Edward Timpson: The Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), may need to make a determination in order to protect the public investment in the land where the land ceases, or will cease, to be used for an academy. The Secretary of State will consider a range of factors, including:
	1. The degree of public investment in the land and the degree of any enhancement to the value attributable to that investment;
	2. The degree of private investment in the land and the degree of any enhancement to the value attributable to that investment;
	3. The length of time that the land has been in public use;
	4. The value of the land at the date of determination.
	Additional protections for school playing fields would continue to apply, as set out in published guidance, which is available at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice
	A copy of the guidance has been placed in the House Library.

Academies: Land

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  what his policy is on the question of who retains ownership of the land in cases where freehold interest in local authority land is granted to an academy trust;
	(2)  how many cases of academy trusts acquiring freehold interests on land for schools there have been in each of the last five financial years;
	(3)  what the estimated value of the land is for which academy trusts have a freehold interest;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the value of the land for which academy trusts currently have leasehold interest.

Edward Timpson: When community schools convert to academies, the freehold is retained by the local authority and a lease is granted to the academy trust. In some circumstances, where the school governors or supporting foundation already hold the freehold, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), may allow publicly funded school land to be transferred to an academy trust, which will have satisfied the Secretary of State as to its ability to operate a state-funded school.
	There are strict rules protecting publicly funded land used by academies, regardless of who holds the freehold. This is set out in published guidance, which is available online:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice
	A copy of the guidance has been placed in the House Library.
	The Department does not hold information about the average value of land used for academies on a freehold or leasehold basis. Information about the number of academies that occupy land on a leasehold and freehold basis is not held centrally.

Academies: Land

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  under what circumstances he can re-acquire freehold interest in land when an academy’s funding agreement is terminated early;
	(2)  how many times he has used his powers under schedule 1 to the Academies Act 2010 to ensure that land is transferred from an existing governing body directly to an academy trust;
	(3)  what steps his Department has taken to protect public assets and prevent academy trusts from selling freehold land in their possession;
	(4)  what powers academy trusts have to dispose of land on which they hold freehold interests while retaining the proceeds;
	(5)  in what circumstances he would terminate a leasehold agreement with an academy trust prior to the expiration of a 125-year agreement.

Edward Timpson: We have published guidance which sets out how publicly funded land and school playing fields are protected. This guidance is available at:
	www.gov.uk/government/publications/protection-of-school-playing-fields-and-public-land-advice
	If land ceases, or will cease, to be used for an academy, the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove), may need to make a determination in order to protect the public investment in the land. The Secretary of State will consider a range of factors including:
	1. The degree of public investment in the land and the degree of any enhancement to the value attributable to that investment;
	2. The degree of private investment in the land and the degree of any enhancement to the value attributable to that investment;
	3. The length of time that the land has been in public use;
	4. The value of the land at the date of determination.
	Information about the number of academies where land has been transferred from a governing body to an academy trust is not held centrally and could be compiled only at disproportionate cost.

Chief Scientific Advisers

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many meetings he has had with his Department's Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months.

Elizabeth Truss: As was the case under previous Administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

Children in Care

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when he expects to release funds to finance the extension of staying put for young people leaving care.

Edward Timpson: Local authority allocations for 2014-15 of the staying put implementation grant will be paid in four instalments on or by 30 June 2014, 30 August 2014, 30 November 2014 and 27 February 2015.

Children: Social Services

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what research has been undertaken by or on behalf of his Department into the potential (a) benefits and (b) disbenefits to children of further delegation of children's social care functions.

Edward Timpson: The proposals for the further delegation of children’s social care functions build on the evaluation of the Social Work Practices pilot set in train by the Children and Young Persons Act 2008. This identified evidence of positive change through the delegated arrangements for looked-after children and care leavers in the pilot authorities. As a result, the original freedoms in part 1 of the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 were extended to all local authorities.
	Discussions with the pilot local authorities and some other councils, supported the argument that wider delegation would in some circumstances, benefit children.
	The proposals in the consultation document, is published online at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/304660/Powers_to_Delegate_Con_Doc.pdf

Children: Social Services

Emma Lewell-Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he plans to take to ensure that third party providers taking on children's social care functions under his Department's proposals adhere to quality standards set out in regulations.

Edward Timpson: Delegation of children’s social care functions does not remove a local authority’s duties to meet statutory obligations. It remains a local authority’s responsibility to ensure the quality of services regardless of what arrangements it makes for the discharge of its functions.
	Delegated social care functions are inspected by Ofsted, in the same way as directly delivered local authority social care functions, as part of its local authority inspection framework. In addition, regulations currently govern the fitness of third party providers and require their registration with Ofsted.

Dominic Cummings

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education when Dominic Cummings's security pass to the Department of Education was deactivated and withdrawn.

Matthew Hancock: In line with the practice of successive Administrations, the Government do not comment on security matters.

Dominic Cummings

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what requirements have been placed on Dominic Cummings, as part of his contractual terms, to obtain clearance for public statements or writings on matters of Government policy or the internal workings of Government.

Matthew Hancock: These requirements are outlined in the relevant sections of the Civil Service Code and can be found at
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-service-code/the-civil-service-code

Dominic Cummings

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Secretary of State for Education 
	(1)  whether Dominic Cummings has had any e-mail contact with officials, Ministers or special advisers in his Department since he resigned his post as a special adviser;
	(2)  when Dominic Cummings last had e-mail contact with officials, Ministers and special advisers in his Department;
	(3)  if he will release all e-mail correspondence between officials, Ministers and special advisers in his Department and Dominic Cummings since Mr Cummings left the Department;
	(4)  whether Dominic Cummings has contacted officials, Ministers and special advisers in his Department through their (a) official or (b) personal e-mail accounts on official business since Mr Cummings left the Department.

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what meetings (a) he, (b) Ministers in his Department and (c) officials in his Department have had with Dominic Cummings since Mr Cummings left his Department; and what the purpose of those meetings was;

Matthew Hancock: Mr Cummings is an ex-employee of the Department for Education. It is not uncommon for ex-employees to be in contact with Ministers and the Department. As the Secretary of State for Education, my right hon. Friend the Member for Surrey Heath (Michael Gove) explained to the House on 16 June 2014, many people seek to visit and contact the Department for Education to exchange ideas with old friends and colleagues.

First Aid: Education

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what assessment his Department has made of the benefits of teaching emergency life-saving skills in schools.

Matthew Hancock: Emergency life-saving skills (ELS) can be taught as part of personal, social, health and economic (PSHE) education.
	PSHE can help children develop essential social skills that evidence shows are important for children’s achievement across all subjects, and for their preparation for a healthy and active life.
	Schools are encouraged to work with expert organisations to teach ELS, for example St John Ambulance who visited approximately 2,000 schools in 2013. Their ‘Teach the Difference’ website has over 7,000 registered users, most of whom are teachers, and users downloaded over 16,000 first aid lesson plans in 2013.

Free Schools

Ben Wallace: To ask the Secretary of State for Education which free schools have been approved in each local education authority area excluding London since 2010; and which such schools are (a) non-denominational and (b) of each religious denomination.

Edward Timpson: There are 174 open free schools in England. Published location information for all these schools is available on the Department for Education’s website at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/309965/List_of_open_free_schools_ and_free_schools_opening_in_2014_and_beyond_up....xlsx
	37 of those schools have a faith designation, of which. 20 are in areas other than London. They can be found in the following table, along with their religious designation.
	
		
			 Name of school Local authority Faith designation 
			 Al-Madinah School Derby Muslim 
			 Atherton Community School Wigan Christian 
			 Barrow 1618 Church of England School Shropshire Christian 
			 Becket Keys Church of England School Essex Christian 
			 Grindon Hall Free School Sunderland Christian 
			 Khalsa Secondary Academy Buckinghamshire Sikh 
			 King's School Hove Brighton and Hove Christian 
			 Krishna-Avanti Primary School Leicester Hindu 
			 Leeds Jewish Free School Leeds Jewish 
			 Niskham Free School Birmingham Sikh 
			 Nishkam High School Birmingham Sikh 
			 St Michael’s Catholic Secondary School Cornwall Christian 
			 St Anthony’s School Gloucestershire Christian 
		
	
	
		
			 St Mary’s Primary School, Dilwyn Herefordshire Christian 
			 Tauheedul Islam Boys’ High School Blackburn with Darwen Muslim 
			 The Olive School, Blackburn Blackburn with Darwen Muslim 
			 The Olive Tree Primary School Bolton Muslim 
			 Trinity School Kent Christian 
			 Tyndale Community School Oxfordshire Christian 
			 University Cathedral Free School Cheshire West and Chester Christian 
		
	
	26% of mainstream free schools have a faith designation, as opposed to 34% of all state-funded mainstream schools.

GCSE

Adrian Bailey: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what proportion of the age cohort achieved a A* to C grade in GCSE (a) mathematics, (b) English and (c) English literature by the age of (i) 19, (ii) 20, (iii) 21, (iv) 22, (v) 23, (vi) 24 and (vi) 25 years in each of the last 10 years.

Edward Timpson: The following tables show the proportion of 18, 19 and 20-year-olds who had achieved A*-C grade in GCSE English and GCSE mathematics. The figures relate to academic age, that is age at the start of the academic year, so young people of academic age 18 are those turning 19 during the academic year. The figures cover young people who were in the state sector at academic age 15. The data source used for this analysis does not differentiate between English literature and English language so the figures for English include those that have A*-C in either subject. The Department does not hold information on the attainment of people older than academic age 20. The earliest data available are for the cohort that was academic age 18 in 2004/05.
	
		
			 Proportion achieving A*-C grade in GCSE mathematics by academic age and cohort 
			 Percentage 
			  Academic age 
			 Cohort academic age 18 in 18 19 20 
			 2004/05 49.3 49.4 49.4 
			 2005/06 48.6 48.7 48.8 
			 2006/07 50.5 50.6 50.6 
			 2007/08 52.7 52.7 52.8 
			 2008/09 54.6 54.7 54.7 
			 2009/10 56.5 56.6 56.7 
			 2010/11 59.1 59.2 59.3 
			 2011/12 61.9 62.0 — 
			 2012/13 65.2 — — 
		
	
	
		
			 Proportion achieving A*-C grade in GCSE English by academic age and cohort 
			 Percentage 
			  Academic age 
			 Cohort academic age 18 in 18 19 20 
			 2004/05 55.9 56.0 56.0 
			 2005/06 56.7 56.8 56.9 
			 2006/07 57.3 57.4 57.4 
		
	
	
		
			 2007/08 58.9 58.9 59.0 
			 2008/09 60.1 60.2 60.2 
			 2009/10 61.2 61.3 61.4 
			 2010/11 63.2 63.3 63.3 
			 2011/12 65.4 65.5 — 
			 2012/13 69.0 — — 
			 Source: DFE Young Person’s Matched Administrative Dataset.

Literature: GCSE

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what role he has had in designing the new GCSE English literature curriculum; and on what dates he has had meetings about its design in the last 12 months.

Matthew Hancock: The Secretary of State for Education set out that new GCSEs should provide students with fulfilling and demanding courses of study, with expectations that match and exceed those in the highest performing countries. GCSE English literature subject content was developed drawing on the evidence gathered through its public consultation on GCSE English literature content, which ran from June to August 2013, and from Ofqual, the awarding organisations and other subject experts.
	In the last 12 months, the Secretary of State has met Department for Education officials on a series of occasions to discuss evidence gathered during the consultation.

Magna Carta

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Education if he will estimate the cost of sending a copy of Magna Carta to every school.

Elizabeth Truss: Magna Carta and the emergence of Parliament are included within the new history curriculum, to be taught in maintained secondary schools from September 2014.
	To support teachers to commemorate the 800th anniversary, a range of projects and resources are being provided by Parliament and others for primary and secondary school pupils.
	We have no plans to send a copy of Magna Carta to every school and therefore have not made an estimate of what this might cost.

Pupils: Mental Health

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what training is given to teachers at maintained schools to (a) support the mental health of their students and (b) spot the early signs of emerging mental health problems.

Edward Timpson: The Government believe that professional development for teachers is important to help support and enable teachers to improve their practice, and an assessment of training and development needs must be included in teachers’ written appraisal reports. Headteachers and teachers are best placed to make decisions about what professional development they require in order to meet the needs of their pupils.
	To support this, on 16 June 2014 the Department for Education issued new non-statutory guidance for schools and teachers on pupils’ mental health and behaviour. This guidance gives information, guidance and practical tools on how to build resilience and support good mental health. It also helps school staff identify those pupils who may have emerging problems and provides guidance on appropriate routes of support.
	We put before Parliament a new 0-25 SEN and Disability Code of Practice. This makes it clear that schools should look to identify any underlying mental health needs that pupils have. The code emphasises the importance of staff development and provides a number of signposts to specific support. This includes further support for teachers and adults working with children and young people, which is available through MindEd—
	www.minded.org.uk—
	a website funded by the Department of Health that helps adults identify and support children and young people’s mental health issues.

Science: Females

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what steps he has taken to increase the proportion of girls taking separate science at GCSE.

Elizabeth Truss: The number of girls taking separate science GCSEs increased between 2010 and 2013 from 53,000 to 74,800 (41%) in biology, from 51,400 to 73,600 (43%) in chemistry and from 50,700 to 73,200 (44%) in physics. Girls now make up approximately 49% of all those taking each of the separate sciences, compared with approximately 45% in 2010.
	The Government are committed to increasing take-up of separate science GCSEs, including increasing the proportion of girls as part of our commitment to improve overall take-up of STEM subjects at A-level and beyond.
	The “Your Life” campaign, launched in May 2014, brings together business, educators, civil society and Government to show how science and mathematics lead to exciting, successful careers. This will include a publicity campaign aimed at 14 to 16-year-olds, which will aim to change the way they think about science-based subjects from boring, specialist and niche to empowering, exciting, enabling and for everyone.
	We are funding the Triple Science Support Programme to provide intensive support to schools with either no take-up or relatively low take-up of all three separate science GCSEs, and more general support to all other schools. We are also funding the Stimulating Physics Network to increase progression to physics A-level, especially of girls. Much of the work the network does focuses on improving the engagement and interest of pupils in physics at GCSE.
	Excellent teaching is vital and we are offering bursaries worth up to £20,000 and teacher training scholarships worth £25,000 to recruit more specialist science teachers. We are also funding up to 50 local science learning partnerships to provide CPD for existing science teachers.
	The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills funds the STEM Ambassadors programme, a nationwide network of over 27,000 volunteers from industry and academia, 40% of whom are women, who work with schools across the UK to raise awareness of the range of careers that STEM qualifications can offer.

Special Educational Needs

Stephen McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Education whether special educational needs co-ordinators are able to request funds from his Department for extra assistance with SEN students in maintained schools.

Edward Timpson: The Department for Education does not give funds directly to local authority maintained schools. Funds for extra assistance with students with special educational needs (SEN) come from schools’ budgets and, if the extra cost is more than £6,000 per year for an individual student, from local authorities in the form of top-up funding for the school. Local authorities can also give extra funding to schools with a disproportionate number of pupils with SEN. Special educational needs co-ordinators should therefore seek any additional funds required from the relevant local authority.

Teachers: Disciplinary Proceedings

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers have had action taken against them under Teachers' Standards for (a) undermining fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs and (b) failing to ensure that personal beliefs are not expressed in ways which exploit pupils' vulnerability or might lead them to break the law in the last two years.

David Laws: The National College for Teaching and Leadership has prohibited two teachers following professional conduct hearings where the allegations relate to behaviours outlined in the question.

Teachers: Early Retirement

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many teachers took early retirement in (a) Bury St Edmunds constituency, (b) Suffolk and (c) England in each of the last five years.

David Laws: The following table provides the number of teachers in publicly-funded schools who took early retirement in Suffolk local authority and England between March 2008-09 to March 2012-13. This is the latest information available. Information for Bury St Edmunds constituency is not available.
	
		
			 March Suffolk LA1, 2 England1, 2 
			 2008-09 130 8,570 
			 2009-10 100 7,810 
			 2010-11 130 9,380 
			 2011-123 180 9,780 
		
	
	
		
			 2012-133 150 8,630 
			 1 Figures are rounded to the nearest 10 teachers. 2 Includes Premature Retirements, Actuarially Reduced Benefits and Ill Health. 3 Provisional estimates. 2011-12 data will remain provisional until summer 2015 and 2012-13 data are likely to remain provisional until summer 2016. Source: Pensioner Statistical System (PENSTATS).

Teachers: Pensions

Steven Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what recent assessment he has made of the (a) feasibility and (b) cost to the public purse of enabling supply teachers to contribute to the Teachers' Pension Scheme.

David Laws: Supply teachers are able to participate in the Teachers' Pension Scheme (TPS) where they are employed by an ‘accepted employer'. In the main, these are local authorities (LAs), academies and further education colleges. This includes supply teachers who are recruited by a supply agency but then employed directly, under a contract of employment, by the accepted employer. The LA, academy or further education college is responsible for meeting a number of obligations that fall to employers under the teachers' pensions regulations, not least of which is to pay the employer contribution to the TPS.
	However, where supply teachers are self-employed or remain employed by the supply agency, and their services are provided under a ‘contract for services', it is not possible for them to participate in the TPS. This is because the Department for Education cannot mandate that private sector employers participate in the scheme.
	It is for LAs, academies and further education colleges to determine how supply teachers are employed, which can in turn enable access to the TPS under the current arrangements.

Teachers: Veterans

Alex Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many members of the armed forces have been recruited into teacher roles under the Troops to Teachers initiative to date.

David Laws: The Troops to Teachers undergraduate programme is a new programme, which started in January 2014. 41 service leavers joined the Troops to Teachers programme in January 2014. Recruitment is almost complete for the second cohort of the programme and more service leavers will start their training in September 2014. The first successful graduates of the programme will be employed as teachers, subject to achieving Qualified Teacher Status and a degree, in 2016.

DEFENCE

Air Force

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 9 June 2014, Official Report, column 27W, on the Royal Air Force, whether any UK personnel other than Remotely Piloted Air System personnel are embedded in the 732nd Operations Group.

Mark Francois: There are no UK personnel embedded in the 732nd Operations Group.

Aircraft Carriers

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which personnel aboard Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers will need to wear active noise cancellation headsets; how many such headsets will be required; and what the cost of such headsets will be.

Philip Dunne: The requirement for Active Noise Reduction (ANR) headsets for personnel associated with operating F-35B on board Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers will be tailored to individuals' noise exposure. As with all flight operatives on aircraft carriers, this will apply to personnel on the flight deck and not on other areas of the ship. The noise exposure will be dependent upon the operational employment of personnel, which will be defined through the ongoing development of operating procedures. The design specification of the headsets will be commensurate with the noise exposure, and in cognisance of the Control of Noise at Work Regulations, 2005. The preferred product is due to be ordered prior to the QEC entering service.

Armed Forces: Recruitment

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate (a) the savings generated by each branch of the armed forces having separate recruiting programmes and (b) the annual cost of each such programme.

Anna Soubry: Each branch of the armed forces has a distinctive brand that needs to be marketed separately in order to attract the best candidates.
	Capturing the cost of recruiting across the armed forces is a complex and resource-intensive task. For financial year (FY) 2010-11, when both the recruitment budget and recruitment targets were below normal levels, these calculations were not carried out. The costs of recruiting programmes for FYs 2009-10, 2011-12 and 2012-13 are set out in the following table. The cost of recruiting in FY 2013-14 will be available in early 2015.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Financial year Royal Navy Army RAF Total 
			 2009-10 41,475,281 138,743,300 51,298,179 231,516,760 
			 2011-12 32,017,364 134,595,989 38,702,993 205,316,346 
			 2012-13 33,228,059 122,756,649 35,430,723 191,415,431 
		
	
	As reductions have been made to force levels recruitment levels have been adjusted but not stopped as the Services are required to keep recruiting to maintain the right skills.

Armed Forces: Training

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place a copy of 2014DIN07-081 on Physical Training Policy For Army Reserve And Full Time Reserve Service in the Library.

Mark Francois: A copy of 2014DIN07-081 on Physical Training Policy For Army Reserves And Full Time Reserve Service will be placed in the Library of the House.

Army Reserve

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide details of the current workforce model for the Army Reserve that his Department is using to assess how long it will take to recruit the required number of 30,000 reserves; and when under the current model that target will be met.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the written statement and paper the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), placed in the Library of the House on 19 December 2013, Official Report, column 124WS.

Army Reserve

Dan Jarvis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer of 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 364W, on reserve forces, what the current national recruitment rate to the Army Reserve is.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the UK Armed Forces Quarterly Personnel report which is published by Defence Statistics. This shows reserve trained and untrained strength figures, as well as movements into the Future Reserves 2020 populations. It is available on the www.gov.uk website at the following link:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-armed-forces-quarterly-personnel-report-2014

Army: Recruitment

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will estimate the (a) monthly and (b) total additional cost to date for paying Capita as if it was meeting quantity and quality standards for recruitments in the Recruiting Partnering Project. [Official Report, 1 September 2014, Vol. 585, c. 1MC.]

Anna Soubry: Between its launch in March 2012 to 31 March 2014, the Army has paid Capita £100.380 million for the Recruiting Partnering Project. The Recruiting Partnering Project remains within the overall agreed cost of £1.360 million.
	The Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), set out on 14 January 2014, Official Report, column 716, the cost of Capita providing a new information technology platform as part of the Recruiting Partnering Project. At the time, these costs were expected to be around £47.7 million directly linked to the change of hosting provision. Since this statement, these costs have reduced to around £42.9 million.
	As previously stated by the Secretary of State on 14 January, there has been an additional cost of around £1 million per month to run the Capita system. This includes costs for additional manpower.

Army: Recruitment

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, page 12, what his Department's response is to the recommendation that it should reassess its targets for recruiting reserves.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the written ministerial statement and paper the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), placed in the Library of the House on 19 December 2013, Official Report, column 124WS. The hon. Member will be aware that this is a five-year plan and I am confident that the Army will reach this target.

Army: Recruitment

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, page 8 
	(1)  if he will provide a breakdown of the costings used to work out that reserves cost around 87% of the costs of regulars when mobilised;
	(2)  when Ministers in his Department first established that reserves cost around 87% of the cost of regulars when mobilised.

Anna Soubry: The figures used by the NAO in paragraph 11 of its report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, were taken from Future Reserves 2020: The Independent Commission to Review the United Kingdom's Reserve Forces. I refer the hon. Member to paragraph 97. This involved considerable work to develop a Regular: Reserve Cost Comparison Model.

Army: Recruitment

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons his Department did not provide supporting ICT infrastructure for Capita's new recruitment software as required under its contractual arrangements with Capita in relation to the Recruiting Partnering Project.

Anna Soubry: A number of factors contributed to the problems experienced with the information communication technology hosting environment provided for Capita.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), on 14 January 2014, Official Report, column 715, to the hon. Member for Gedling (Vernon Coaker).

Army: Recruitment

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014, page 10, which Minister in his Department signed off on the decision not to provide supporting ICT infrastructure for Capita's new recruitment software as part of his Department's contractual arrangements with Capita in relation to the Recruiting Partnering Project.

Anna Soubry: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 21 January 2014, Official Report, column 111W.

Army: Recruitment

Kevan Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps his Department is taking to rectify the (a) inconsistent understanding of Army staffing requirements, (b) limited use of management information and (c) unsystematic approach to improvement in relation to the Recruiting Partnering Project referred to on pages 36 and 37 of the National Audit Office report, Army 2020, HC 263, published on 11 June 2014.

Anna Soubry: The National Audit Office made a number of observations and recommendations in their report into Army 2020. The Department will respond to these in due course. Part of the reason the Army has entered a recruitment partnership with Capita is to harness the benefits of an integrated recruiting system to help the Army drive more effective end-to-end recruiting and training activity. As the Capita IT systems and applications and the recruitment partnering project reaches full operating capability, and can interact with other IT tools available to the Army, we would expect to see these benefits realised.

Army: Training

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) male and (b) female recruits who completed phase two training at Catterick Infantry Training Centre in each year since 2006 went on to join the trained strength; how many such recruits in those categories were aged under 18 years when they enlisted; how many had undertaken phase one training at Harrogate Army Foundation College; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: On 8 May 2014 the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond), announced that a review of the exclusion of women in ground close combat roles, including the Infantry, Royal Armoured Corps and Household Cavalry would begin immediately, and report by the end of this year.
	No female recruits currently undergo infantry training and therefore figures shown for the Infantry Training Centre relate to males only.
	The information requested is shown in the table. Completion of phase 2 training is the point at which recruits are deemed to have joined the trained strength.
	
		
			  Phase 2 Completions (Male) Under 18 on entry (Male) Army Foundation College Starts (Male) 
			 2006-07 2,300 950 230 
			 2007-08 2,210 890 260 
			 2008-09 2,610 860 270 
			 2009-10 3,370 980 310 
			 2010-11 1,920 540 300 
			 2011-12 2,790 620 390 
			 2012-13 2,760 740 520 
			 2013-14 2,450 560 320 
			 Note: Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Army: Training

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the full out-turn cost of (a) building maintenance, (b) staffing, (c) training, (d) salaries for recruits and (e) other costs were at Catterick Infantry Training Centre in each year since 2006; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what the full out-turn cost was of AFC Harrogate in each year since 2006, including (a) building maintenance, (b) staffing costs, (c) training costs and (d) salaries for recruits; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what the anticipated out-turn cost of AFC Harrogate is for financial year 2014-15; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what the anticipated out-turn cost of ITC Catterick is for financial year 2014-15.

Anna Soubry: Financial data are held from financial year 2007-08 onwards. The Ministry of Defence’s budgetary structure is organised into a number of different Top Level Budget areas. This means that the cost of activities at a single location can often be split between a number of different budgets which are not managed centrally. For example infrastructure costs (including utilities) are managed by the Defence Infrastructure Organisation through contracts which do not split out the costs for individual units operating on a particular site. Similarly, equipment costs are managed across whole fleets of items by Defence Equipment and Support, and not by individual location. For this reason the full running costs of the Infantry Training Centre and the Army Foundation College cannot be provided in the format requested. However the costs attributable to the Army can be provided from financial year 2007-08 onwards.
	
		
			 £ million 
			 Unit 2007-08 2008-09 2009-10 2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 
			 Army Foundation College 54.658 62.078 58.435 60.829 62.199 63.486 62.232 
			 Infantry Training Centre 83.172 90.790 104.702 81.471 103.196 105.274 93.046 
		
	
	The Army’s anticipated out-turn for the Army Foundation College Harrogate in 2014-15 is £66.204 million, and for Infantry Training Centre Catterick is £90.793 million.

Army: Training

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) male and (b) female recruits dropped out of training at Catterick Infantry Training Centre after completing phase one but before completing phase two in each year since 2006; how many such recruits in each category were aged under 18 years when they enlisted; how many had undertaken phase one training at Harrogate Army Foundation College; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Infantry training at Catterick is comprised of the Combat Infantryman's course, which is a combined phase one and phase two course. For this reason it is not possible to provide the information requested for those who are recruited straight into Catterick.
	Separate phase one training prior to attending Catterick is undertaken by those who attend the Army Foundation College at Harrogate. The numbers in the table relate only to recruits who attended the Army Foundation College and therefore all would have been under 18 on enlistment.
	No female recruits undergo infantry training and therefore figures shown relate to males only.
	
		
			  Total starts Junior entry starts Junior entry drop out Senior entry starts Senior entry drop out % Junior entry drop out % Senior entry drop out 
			 2006-07 3,410 300 40 3,110 950 13 28 
			 2007-08 3,550 300 30 3,250 1,090 10 31 
			 2008-09 4,020 320 40 3,700 1,060 13 26 
			 2009-10 4,170 380 50 3,790 1,340 13 32 
			 2010-11 2,600 280 40 2,320 840 14 32 
			 2011-12 4,050 470 70 3,580 1,260 15 31 
			 2012-13 3,870 630 100 3,240 910 16 24 
			 2013-14 1,950 420 40 1,530 680 10 35 
			 Note: Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Army: Training

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) male and (b) female recruits who commenced phase two training at Catterick Infantry Training Centre had undertaken phase one training at Harrogate Army Foundation College in each year since 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: No female recruits undergo infantry training. The information requested for males is in the table:
	
		
			  Male 
			 2006-07 300 
			 2007-08 300 
			 2008-09 320 
			 2009-10 380 
			 2010-11 280 
			 2011-12 470 
			 2012-13 630 
			 2013-14 420 
			 Note: Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Army: Training

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) male and (b) female recruits dropped out of training at Catterick Infantry Training Centre before completing phase one in each year since 2006; how many such recruits in each category were aged under 18 when they enlisted; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Infantry training at Catterick is comprised of the Combat Infantryman’s course, which is a combined phase one and phase two course. For this reason it is not possible to provide the information requested for those who dropped out of training before completing phase one. The table shows all those who failed to complete the Combat Infantryman’s course.
	No female recruits undergo infantry training and therefore figures shown relate to males only:
	
		
			  Discharged at ITC (Male) Under 18 on entry (Male) 
			 2006-07 950 320 
			 2007-08 1,090 290 
			 2008-09 1,060 210 
			 2009-10 1,400 250 
		
	
	
		
			 2010-11 840 90 
			 2011-12 1,260 120 
			 2012-13 910 100 
			 2013-14 680 80 
			 Note: Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Army: Training

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) male and (b) female recruits have commenced phase one training at Catterick Infantry Training Centre in each year since 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: Infantry training at Catterick is comprised of the Combat Infantryman’s course, which is a combined phase one and phase two course. The table includes all those who commenced the Combat Infantryman’s course.
	No female recruits undergo infantry training and therefore figures relate to males only.
	
		
			  Male 
			 2006-07 3,110 
			 2007-08 3,250 
			 2008-09 3,700 
			 2009-10 3,790 
			 2010-11 2,320 
			 2011-12 3,580 
			 2012-13 3,240 
			 2013-14 1,530 
			 Note: Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Army: Training

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many recruits of each sex commenced phase one training at AFC Harrogate in each year since 2006; how many recruits of each sex enlisted in an infantry role in that time; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: No females currently serve in the infantry. The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Commenced phase one training at AFC Harrogate Enlisted in infantry role 
			  Male Female All Male 
			 2006-07 1,230 70 1,300 450 
			 2007-08 1,250 70 1,320 490 
			 2008-09 1,290 100 1,390 540 
			 2009-10 1,320 100 1,420 540 
			 2010-11 1,200 40 1,240 780 
			 2011-12 1,350 50 1,400 900 
			 2012-13 1,250 120 1,370 570 
			 2013-14 1,180 100 1,280 510 
			 Note: Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Army: Training

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many recruits of each sex dropped out of training at AFC Harrogate before completing phase one in each year since 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The information is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Male Female 
			 2006-07 280 20 
			 2007-08 300 30 
			 2008-09 300 20 
			 2009-10 420 40 
			 2010-11 380 20 
			 2011-12 420 10 
			 2012-13 240 20 
			 2013-14 170 10 
			 Note: Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Army: Training

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many recruits of each sex completed training at AFC Harrogate in each year since 2006; how many recruits of each sex commenced phase two training (a) elsewhere and (b) at ITC Catterick; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: No female recruits undergo infantry training. The information requested is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  AFC Harrogate Completions (Male) AFC Harrogate Completions (Female) Phase two starts elsewhere (Male) Phase two starts elsewhere (Female) Phase two starts ITC Catterick (Male) 
			 2006-07 860 50 560 50 300 
			 2007-08 890 50 580 50 300 
			 2008-09 860 40 540 40 320 
			 2009-10 960 80 580 80 380 
			 2010-11 840 60 560 60 280 
			 2011-12 800 20 330 20 480 
			 2012-13 1,100 80 490 80 630 
			 2013-14 1,040 70 620 70 420 
			 Note: Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Army: Training

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many recruits are expected to commence phase one training at AFC Harrogate in financial year 2014-15; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many recruits are expected to commence phase one training at ITC Catterick in financial year 2014-15; and if he will make a statement.

Anna Soubry: The number of recruits programmed to start training at AFC Harrogate and ITC Catterick in financial year 2014-15 is shown in the table.
	
		
			 2014-15 
			 Establishment Number 
			 AFC Harrogate 1,450 
			 ITC Catterick 2,750 
			 Note: Figures have been rounded to 10; numbers ending in 5 are rounded to the nearest multiple of 20 to prevent systematic bias.

Assets

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assets his Department has sold and leased back over the last 12 months; what the sale price was of each asset so sold; and what estimate his Department has made of the cost to the public purse of leasing back each such asset over the period of the lease.

Andrew Murrison: This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, normally the Ministry of Defence sells its assets with vacant possession, only leasing back properties for short periods pending relocation of the occupants.

AWE

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what facility rekit projects have taken place at the Atomic Weapons Establishment under the scope of the Nuclear Weapons Capability Sustainment Programme; and what the cost of each such project was.

Philip Dunne: The term rekit is used by the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) to mean the replacement or modernisation of process plant and/or equipment within an existing facility, including upgrading of building services. The following is a list of major facility rekits that have taken place or are taking place at AWE. There are also a number of more minor rekits under way which are not listed.
	Depleted Uranium Upgrade
	Beryllium Facility
	Plutonium Capability Programme (A90)
	Enriched Uranium Facility (A45)
	Explosive storage and processing Facility
	Salts Sustainment
	Facility for assembly/disassembly of Warhead
	The information relating to individual rekit costs for each facility for the years 2003 to date is not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

AWE Aldermaston

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the completion date is for refurbishment of existing hydrodynamics research facilities at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston; what the cost is of the refurbishment; and what the expected lifetime is of the new facilities.

Philip Dunne: The refurbishment of the existing hydrodynamics research facilities at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston is planned to be completed by summer 2016.
	The forecast cost of the refurbishment is £25.5 million.
	The refurbished facilities will have a range of expected lifetimes, estimated at between 10 and 15 years.

Clyde Naval Base

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will provide a skills breakdown of the civilian personnel employed at HMNB Clyde by (a) his Department, (b) Babcock, (c) Serco, (d) Rolls-Royce, (e) Thales and (f) other main contractors.

Philip Dunne: A breakdown of the Ministry of Defence civilian personnel employed at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde, by job family, as at 9 June 2014, is provided in the table.
	
		
			 Job family Number 
			 Business Management & Improvement 17 
			 Commercial 6 
			 Internal Communications and Media Relations 6 
			 Corporate Support 59 
			 Engineering and Science 97 
			 Estates 13 
			 Finance 11 
			 Health Professionals 11 
			 Human Resources 2 
			 Information 26 
			 Logistics 67 
			 Programme and Project Management 26 
			 Security, Health & Safety 931 
			 Training and Education 13 
			 Total 1,285 
		
	
	A skills breakdown for Babcock, Serco, Rolls-Royce, Thales and other main contractors is a matter for individual contractors and is not held by the Department.

Clyde Naval Base

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilian personnel employed at HMNB Clyde are resident in (a) Argyll and Bute, (b) West Dunbartonshire, (c) other parts of Scotland and (d) other parts of the UK.

Philip Dunne: As at 9 June 2014, the number of Ministry of Defence civilian personnel employed at Her Majesty's Naval Base Clyde resident in Argyll and Bute, West Dunbartonshire, other parts of Scotland and other parts of the United Kingdom are provided in the table.
	
		
			 Region Number1 
			 Argyll and Bute 423 
			 West Dunbartonshire 457 
			 Other parts of Scotland 385 
			 Other parts of the UK 15 
			 Not known 5 
			 Total 1,285 
			 1 It should be noted that the recording of home addresses by Ministry of Defence civilian personnel is not mandatory and the information above is not verified.

Clyde Naval Base

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilian personnel are employed at HMNB Clyde by (a) his Department, (b) Babcock, (c) ABL Alliance, (d) Serco, (e) Rolls Royce, (f) Thales and (g) other main contractors.

Philip Dunne: As at 9 June 2014, 1,285 Ministry of Defence civilian personnel are employed at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde. Additionally, there are approximately 1,900 people employed in the Naval Base by contractors. The precise number is a matter for the contractors and will fluctuate, depending on the tasks and the number of sub-contractors employed.

Departmental Records

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place a copy of 2014DIN05-012 on JSP 441 - The Defence Records Management Policy and Procedures: Publication of Version 4:3 in the Library.

Andrew Murrison: A copy of the Defence Instruction Notice 2014DIN05-012 regarding JSP 441 will be placed in the Library of the House.

France

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of agreements with the French Government to (a) undertake joint research at the Atomic Weapons Establishment Orion and Commissariat à l'Énergie Atomique Laser Mégajoule, (b) allow use of hydrodynamics research facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment and (c) peer review technical and scientific data underpinning nuclear warhead certification.

Philip Dunne: The agreements with the French Government to undertake the joint research described are detailed in article 1 of the Teutates treaty 2010, available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/228571/7975.pdf

Intelligence Services

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will restrict the use of fused multidisciplinary intelligence at the forthcoming Joint and Combined Geo-INT event held by the Defence Geospatial Intelligence and Fusion Centre at RAF Wyton.

Mark Francois: Sharing and fusing intelligence in an increasingly complex world is essential if we are to understand threats to UK interests. The Ministry of Defence intelligence community works closely with international partners in the fulfilment of this aim. Any intelligence sharing is conducted in accordance with UK law.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the loudest decibel levels are that are produced by JSF F-35B during operations aboard an aircraft carrier.

Philip Dunne: The loudest operation to be conducted by the F-35B onboard an aircraft carrier is a Military Power take-off. The measured aircraft sound level of a Military Power take-off is approximately 145 dB at 135 degrees from the aircraft nose centre line, at a distance of 50 feet from the rear of the aircraft. The Military Power take-off is a standard operating procedure and managing exposure to noise is an integral part of normal embarked operations. This level of noise is similar to that of the Harrier, F18s, F15s and the same level as produced by an F-16.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the value of purchasing AM-aluminium matting for landing pads for the JSF F-35B.

Philip Dunne: High temperature resistant concrete was considered as the most appropriate surface for the UK Joint Strike Fighter landing pads. AM-aluminium matting was considered but does not have the same durability for repeated use and would also result in a higher maintenance burden.

Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what risk assessment he has made of the safety of aircraft handlers and maintenance personnel due to the noise produced by the Joint Strike Fighter.

Philip Dunne: Full assessment has been made regarding the noise levels of the Joint Strike Fighter. Personnel noise exposure risk is managed in accordance with the Control of Noise at Work Regulations, 2005 and will include a combination of personal protective equipment and procedures to control daily noise exposure, normal practice for personnel operating machinery such as helicopters, tanks and other aircraft.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what deviations or exemptions from the Military Air Systems Certifications Process were made for the Airseeker aircraft; when those deviations or exemptions were made; and who authorised each such deviation or exemption;
	(2)  whether the deviations or exemptions from the Military Air Systems Certification Process that allowed the inaugural flight of the Rivet Joint aircraft on May 27 2014 were the final form that will be used for all operations.

Philip Dunne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 364W, to the hon. Member for Plymouth, Moor View (Alison Seabeck).
	Ongoing work will progressively refine this release as additional information becomes available and further analysis is conducted.

Military Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many (a) actual and (b) simulated flight hours pilots need to adjust from a fast jet with a heads-up display to one with only a helmet-mounted display.

Philip Dunne: The adjustment from a fast jet aircraft with a heads-up display to one with a helmet-mounted display cannot be quantified in hours as pilots are trained to operate the aircraft as a whole.

Nuclear Weapons: Proliferation

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of whether arrangements for defence nuclear co-operations which were agreed at the UK-France summit in January 2014 summit comply with the (a) Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban treaty, (b) treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and (c) other aspects of international law; and if he will place in the Library a copy of any such assessments.

Philip Dunne: Arrangements agreed at the UK-France summit in January 2014 are entirely consistent with all of our obligations under international law including the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban treaty and the treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. I am withholding release of any assessments under the principle of legal professional privilege.

Official Visits

Sheila Gilmore: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what visits each of the Ministers in his Department have made since January 2013; and what the purpose of each such visit was.

Anna Soubry: Details of Ministers’ visits and the purpose of each visit overseas are published quarterly and can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ministers-transparency-publications
	Details of Ministers’ overseas visits and the purpose of each visit from January to December 2013 have been published. The details from January 2014 to date will be published in due course.

Procurement

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether bidders for the Next Generation Estate Contracts were invited to offer a blanket bid for all contracts.

Andrew Murrison: The Next Generation Estate Contracts consist of six separate contracts which were advertised separately. Some companies chose to become involved in bids for more than one, but since the procurements were competed separately, the Defence Infrastructure Organisation did not encourage a ‘blanket bid’. It was left for tenderers to make their own commercial judgment in this respect.

Shipbuilding: Portsmouth

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had with BAE Systems about delaying the closure of the Portsmouth shipyard until the results of the Scottish referendum are known.

Andrew Murrison: No discussions have been held with BAE Systems about delaying the closure of Portsmouth shipyard pending the results of the Scottish referendum.
	The Government are clear that Scotland benefits from being part of the UK and the UK benefits from having Scotland within it. The Government are not making plans for independence as we are confident that the people of Scotland will vote to remain within the United Kingdom in the referendum.

Tornado Aircraft

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what event or risk involving a Tornado aircraft led to the approval of the Collision Warning System Technical Demonstrator Programme for that aircraft; when that event or risk was identified; and where it is recorded.

Philip Dunne: The Collision Warning System (CWS) Technical Demonstrator Programme (TDP) Final Report dated October 1996 details that the CWS TDP resulted from a series of airborne collisions involving various types of fast jets in the years prior to 1991. Although the TDP was evaluated using a Tornado GR1 test aircraft, the objective was to evaluate the CWS concept across all of the fast jet operational training environment.

Travel

Maria Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how much his Department spent on ministerial travel by (a) Government Car Service, (b) private hire vehicles, (c) taxis, (d) rail, (e) aviation and (f) other means in each year of the current parliament.

Mark Francois: I apologise for the length of time it has taken to provide the hon. Member with a response to her question. I will write to the hon. Member with the information requested shortly.
	Substantive answer from Anna Soubry to Maria Eagle:
	My predecessor undertook to write to you in response to your Parliamentary Question of 5 September 2013, Official Report, column 490W, about the cost of ministerial travel in the Ministry of Defence (MOD) in each year of the current Parliament. The information requested is presented in the following table. I am sorry for the delay in replying.
	
		
			 £ 
			 Financial year (a) Government Car Service1 (b) Private hire vehicles (c) Taxis (d) Rail2 (e) Aviation3 (f) Other: MOD pool vehicles1 
			 2010-11 39,419 0 147 5,095 120,843 131,622 
			 2011-12 0 0 232 4,249 164,281 127,160 
			 2012-13 0 0 0 3,149 122,223 99,928 
			 1 Road transport for the Secretary of State for Defence, my right hon. Friend the Member for Runnymede and Weybridge (Mr Hammond) is normally provided by the Metropolitan police. The Junior Defence Ministers have, in accordance with the Ministerial Code, given up their cars with a dedicated driver to reduce costs and now share central MOD pool vehicles with senior staff working in the MOD Main Building. The costs quoted represent a notional estimate of the use the Junior Defence Ministers have made of the shared vehicles. 2 Includes Eurostar. 3 Includes both international and domestic flights and some notional costs of travel in RAF aircraft, where available.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 10 February 2014, Official Report, column 474W, on unmanned air vehicles: guided weapons, if he will take steps to receive parliamentary approval before the deployment of the armed forces to the redeployment of armed drones abroad.

Mark Francois: There is no intention for parliamentary approval to be sought before decisions on deployment or redeployment of individual items of equipment are made, though the Ministry of Defence may of course notify Parliament of significant deployments, as it does at present.

Unmanned Air Vehicles

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer of 12 September 2013, Official Report, column 798W, on unmanned aerial vehicles, whether changes to the Reaper agreement pertaining to the UK Reaper Force Squadron have been finalised; and whether this agreement will remain in force following the cessation of NATO International Security Force missions in Afghanistan.

Mark Francois: The memorandum of understanding is still undergoing the review process. However, it will cover both the ISAF mission and any future wider NATO missions.

Written Questions

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many parliamentary questions tabled to his Department in the last parliamentary Session did not receive a substantive answer by the time of the 2014 Prorogation; and when each such question was first tabled.

Anna Soubry: One question tabled to the Ministry of Defence in the last parliamentary Session did not receive a substantive reply by the time of the 2014 Prorogation.
	The tabling date for this question was 14 March 2014.

BUSINESS, INNOVATION AND SKILLS

Apprentices

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people started apprenticeships in (a) Swindon and (b) the United Kingdom in each of the last five years.

Matthew Hancock: Information on the number of apprenticeship starts in England by geography is published in a Supplementary Table to a Statistical First Release (SFR):
	https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/fe-data-library-apprenticeships--2
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/298401/apprenticeships-starts-by-geography-learner-demographics-and-sector-subject-area.xls
	The Department does not collect further education information relating to the devolved Administrations.

Apprentices

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills if he will bring forward proposals to give employers the choice of (a) having either a direct Government contract for apprenticeships and (b) accessing funding support through their chosen training provider.

Matthew Hancock: The Government have consulted on different options for routing apprenticeship funding via employers. The consultation closed on 1 May 2014. We are currently analysing the responses and are committed to designing a system that works for employers of all sizes and in all sectors. Next steps will be announced in the autumn.

Apprentices

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 213W, on apprenticeships, if he will make it his policy to collect information centrally on how many individuals who started an apprenticeship in the 2012-13 academic year were existing employees or new employees.

Matthew Hancock: Information will be collected via the Individualised Learner Record for the 2013/14 academic year onwards on the length of time a learner has been with their employer prior to starting their apprenticeship.

Apprentices

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer of 3 March 2014, Official Report, column 599W, on apprenticeships, what steps he has taken to introduce grading into new apprenticeships; and whether such grading will be mandatory.

Matthew Hancock: Grading is being introduced into new apprenticeships through the Trailblazer process. Groups of employers are coming together to design apprenticeship standards and assessments. All new apprenticeships must be graded, and we have made grading of the end-point assessment a minimum requirement of the new apprenticeship programme.
	Having had their standards approved and published in March, the first phase of Trailblazer projects are now working on their assessment plans, including implementation of the grading requirement.
	Grading is important to ensure qualifications are aspirational for all—including those on track to pass who could benefit from being challenged to aim higher.

Apprentices

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received on steps to encourage more firms to offer apprenticeships for the long-term unemployed.

Matthew Hancock: No recent representations have been received on steps to encourage more firms to offer apprenticeships for the long-term unemployed.
	Despite that, we are taking forward action to do so. Apprenticeships play a vital role in equipping people to lead successful and rewarding working lives, and are a key pathway into work. Apprenticeships and the introduction of study programmes for the 16-19 age group are at the heart of our drive to equip people with the skills that employers need. Traineeships, which we introduced last year, provide an education and training programme with work experience, focused on giving young people aged 16 to 23 the skills and experience they need to get apprenticeships and other sustainable jobs.

Australia

Paul Blomfield: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what visits Ministers in his Department made to Australia in the last year; what the primary purpose was of those visits; and who accompanied them on those visits.

Jennifer Willott: Details of Ministers’ overseas visits are published quarterly on the gov.uk website:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications?departments%5B%5D=department-for-business-innovation-skills&publication_type=transparency-data
	Information for January to March 2014 will be published shortly.

Chief Scientific Advisers

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills 
	(1)  how many meetings he has had with his Department's Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months;
	(2)  how many meetings the Minister of State for (a) Business and Enterprise, (b) Universities, Science and Skills and (c) Skills and Enterprise has had with his Department's Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months.

David Willetts: As was the case under previous Administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

Consultation Papers

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many consultation documents his Department issued which received fewer than 100 separate responses in each of the last four years.

Jennifer Willott: Data on consultation response rates are not centrally held and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Disabled Students' Allowances: North West

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many people are in receipt of disabled students' allowance in (a) the North West, (b) Warrington and (c) Warrington North constituency.

David Willetts: Information on students awarded and paid Disabled Students’ Allowance is published annually by the Student Loans Company (SLC) in the Statistical First Release ‘Student Support for Higher Education England’. The latest statistics are available at the following link:
	http://www.slc.co.uk/media/694170/slcsfr052013.pdf
	A further breakdown for Warrington North constituency, Warrington LEA and the North West has been provided in the table for the academic year 2012/13. Equivalent figures for the academic year 2013/14 will be available from November 2014.
	
		
			 Students in receipt of Disabled Students Allowance1 from Warrington Northconstituency, Warrington and the North West; academic year 2012/13; effective date: 13/11/2013 
			 Number of applicants paid 
			  Application type  
			 Area Full-time application Part-time application Post graduate DSA Total 
			 North West Government Region2 7,030 350 550 7,940 
			 Warrington LEA2 190 10 10 210 
			 Warrington North Constituency2 100 — 10 110 
			 1 Disabled Student Allowance may be paid to the student or to a supplier on the student's behalf. 2 Figures are derived from the Post Code of the applicant's home address. Notes: 1. The effective date is that of the November 2013 Awards Statistical First Release. The figures are therefore provisional and do not include students who were awarded DSA after November 2013. 2. DSA payments may be made at any point during the Academic Year or after the end of the Academic Year. 3. Numbers are rounded to the nearest 10. Totals may not add to the sum of the components due to rounding. 4. ‘—’ represents a number less than 5.

Engineering: Females

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what progress his Department has made on increasing the number of women in engineering roles.

David Willetts: BIS funds or supports a range of activities aimed at increasing the number of women in science and engineering roles. 55% of National Science and Engineering Competition prize winners were girls, as was the UK Young Engineer of the Year 2014.
	BIS also funds STEMNET to run the STEM Ambassadors programme: a nationwide network of over 28,000 volunteers who visit schools to inspire young people, act as role models and bring STEM career opportunities to life. 40% of STEM Ambassadors are women. 91% of UK state secondary schools accessed STEM Ambassadors between 1 April 2013 and 31 March 2014.
	BIS is also part of the ‘Your Life’ campaign that is designed to boost participation in science, technology, engineering and maths at school and beyond. Over 180 leading businesses and institutions have pledged to do more to highlight the career opportunities open to those studying STEM subjects, committing to create over 2000 new entry level positions including apprenticeships, graduate jobs or paid work experience posts.
	As one of our pledges under the ‘Your Life’ campaign, on 12 June 2014, the Minister for Skills and Enterprise, my hon. Friend the Member for West Suffolk (Matthew Hancock), announced £30 million funding to increase the supply of engineers, to encourage more women into the sector and to address engineering skills shortages in smaller companies. The fund will enable engineering companies to establish training programmes to develop future engineers and boost the number of women in the profession. £10 million of the fund will be directed to a call to ‘Developing Women Engineers’ and £10 million to a call to ‘Improving Engineering Careers’.

Insolvency

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many complaints the Government have received on the England and Wales personal insolvency regime in relation to (a) bankruptcy, (b) individual voluntary arrangements and (c) debt relief orders in each year since 2010; and what the nature was of such complaints.

Jennifer Willott: The Insolvency Service (Agency) does not hold records that categorise complaints in this way for 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12. The Agency’s records are held in relation to complaints received in respect of the official receiver’s administration of bankruptcies and debt relief orders (DROs) from 2012-13 onwards.
	Since June 2013, following introduction of the Insolvency Practitioner Complaints Gateway, the Agency has maintained records of complaints made against Insolvency Practitioners (IPs) and their administration of individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs) and Trust Deeds (a Scottish equivalent of IVAs)—no records are held for IVAs alone.
	The following table summarises complaint numbers in respect of the official receiver or IP’s administration of bankruptcies, IVA/Trust Deeds and DROs.
	
		
			  Bankruptcy IVA & Trust Deeds Debt relief orders 
			 2012-13 193 — 0 
			 2013-14 154 183 7 
		
	
	Records detailing the nature of complaints received in relation to the official receiver’s administration of bankruptcy and DRO cases have only been held since 2013/14. The complaints are categorised as follows:
	Delay in taking action;
	Delay in replying to correspondence;
	Delay in returning telephone calls;
	Personal conduct (of a member of staff);
	Misleading/incorrect information;
	Failure to inform/reply;
	Failure to act;
	Incorrect action; and
	Quality of service by 3rd party acting for the Agency.
	The nature of complaints received in respect of an IP’s administration of IVAs are categorised as follows:
	Complainant not receiving a completion certificate;
	IP’s failure to deal with correspondence;
	Complainant disputing payment protection insurance compensation is asset in IVA;
	Complainant believes they were given poor advice; and
	IP failed to deal with an IVA/Trust Deed in a timely way.

Minimum Wage

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what the budget for enforcement of the National Minimum Wage was in 2013-14; and what that budget will be in (a) 2014-15 and (b) 2015-16.

Jennifer Willott: The national minimum wage enforcement budgets for 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 in principle were set out in parliamentary question 174284 on 7 November 2013, Official Report, column 351W.
	The 2014-15 budget was reviewed at the start of the financial year and will be considered again at mid-year and may be subject to change.

Money Lenders

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many telephone calls the Illegal Money Lending Unit helpline received from (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland in each of the last four years.

Jennifer Willott: The Illegal Money Lending Teams in England, Scotland and Wales receive intelligence via the helpline and also through via the “report a loan shark” web page on www.gov.uk, text messages, other electronic media and referrals from enforcement and debt advice agencies.
	Below is a breakdown of the number of calls received over the last four years and also the number of total pieces of intelligence received via all communications channels.
	
		
			 Number 
			  Telephone calls Total intelligence received 
			  England Wales Scotland England Wales Scotland 
			 2013-14 370 16 10 592 29 65 
			 2012-13 323 20 8 657 32 117 
			 2011-12 214 20 12 460 38 96 
			 2010-11 1— 1— 1— 299 48 28 
			 1 Breakdown of number of calls received unavailable. 
		
	
	Trading Standards is a devolved matter in Northern Ireland and so it is not possible to provide comparable data.

Money Lenders

Pamela Nash: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills with reference to the answer of 14 May 2014, Official Report, column 678W, on money lenders, how many actionable reports led to a conviction in each of the last four years.

Jennifer Willott: The Illegal Money Lending Teams conduct complex and sensitive investigations. The length of each investigation will be influenced by the circumstances of the specific case. In some instances convictions can be delivered only through months of proactive intelligence gathering and community engagement. Because of this, some cases span multiple years and so there is not necessarily a direct link between the numbers of actionable reports and the numbers of convictions in any one year.
	Below is a breakdown of the number of operations, arrests and prosecutions completed by the Illegal Money Lending Teams in England, Scotland and Wales in each of the last four years and the number of custodial sentences handed down by the courts.
	
		
			     Number 
			  Operations Arrests/Detainments Prosecutions Custodials 
			  England Wales Scotland England Wales Scotland England Wales Scotland England Wales Scotland 
			 2013-14 74 29 9 107 4 7 55 2 7 25 2 0 
			 2012-13 73 38 15 92 4 4 34 2 6 13 2 0 
			 2011-12 57 37 14 62 13 17 17 4 6 11 4 1 
			 2010-111 288 46 17 104 6 5 32 7 5 26 1 0 
			 1 The England Illegal Money Lending Team was restructured in April 2011. Nine England regional teams were merged into a single national team covering the whole of England.

Postal Services

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions his Department has had with Royal Mail regarding the redirection notices it provides to other postal operators.

Jennifer Willott: None. Matters relating to its operations and services, which includes its redirection service, are the direct responsibility of Royal Mail’s management.

Science: Finance

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what assessment he has made of the effect of levels of public expenditure on science on UK economic productivity figures.

David Willetts: A number of academic studies find a positive link between research and development (R&D) investment and economic growth. Much of the relevant evidence was set out in a recent report for BIS “Insights from international benchmarking of the UK science and innovation system1” and the 2014 BIS Innovation Report.2
	A further recent UK report estimated that public investment in science yields a social rate of return of around 20%, through its impact on private sector productivity3. This means that for every £1 spent by Government on R&D, private sector output rises by 20 pence per year in perpetuity. This effect could be larger where additional public spending on R&D attracts additional private R&D spending. The same report and other studies have shown that there is a “crowding-in” effect of public investment on R&D. The effect is greater in industries that conduct significant R&D or collaborate with universities.
	1Available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/science-and-innovation-system-international-benchmarking
	2Available at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/innovation-report-2014-innovation-research-and-growth
	3 Available at:
	http://sciencecampaign.org.uk/UKScienceBase.pdf

Shipbuilding: Overseas Workers

John Denham: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of former BAE staff at the Portsmouth shipyard who have been recruited by overseas ship-builders.

Michael Fallon: The local taskforce is working to secure positive outcomes for all staff leaving BAE in Portsmouth. It is too early to draw conclusions.
	We recognise the importance of manufacturing and engineering skills to the economy: these will be vital to building the Solent area's strengths in marine and maritime. BIS is working closely with industry, Jobcentre Plus, and Portsmouth council to support those employees impacted by BAE's decision to close its shipyard in Portsmouth.
	The Southampton and Portsmouth City Deal announced a £1 million DWP Rapid Response Service that will support those recently made redundant. Government and local industry will invest £3 million in a Marine and Maritime Employer Ownership for Skills Programme, responding to the immediate skills needs in small and medium-sized enterprises in the advanced manufacturing sector.
	Additionally, the existing UK-wide Talent Retention Solution is available to help match skilled workers to engineering jobs in the UK and is currently advertising 693 vacancies in the south of England on its website.1
	1 Active TRS vacancies listed on 18 June 2014.

Students: Finance

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills pursuant to the written statement of 16 June 2014, Official Report, columns 70-1WS, on student support in England, how many of the students who were unable or chose not to provide adequate evidence of residency were studying at an alternative provider with designated courses; at which provider they were studying; for what qualifications they were registered; and on what basis his Department calculated that £65 million was due to be paid to 1,333 students.

David Willetts: The number of students who were unable or chose not to provide adequate evidence of residency who were studying at an alternative provider with designated courses and providers at which they were studying, was included in the data set placed in the Library of the House to accompany the written ministerial statement on 16 June 2014.
	A breakdown of the courses these students are studying that is not held in the form requested. I have asked the Student Loans Company to compile these data and I will place a copy in the Library of the House as soon as it is available.
	The £65 million figure given in the written ministerial statement is the amount of student support that would have been paid in relation to the 5,548 students deemed to be ineligible following the residency checking exercise. It was calculated using actual awards for students who had approved applications and average award amounts for students whose applications had not reached the approval stage at the time payments were suspended.

Sunday Trading Act 1994

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what recent representations he has received from UK retailers on the effect of the Sunday Trading Act 1994 on their businesses.

Jennifer Willott: The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills has received representations from a number of correspondents in the last 12 months on Sunday trading. These include representations from Asda Stores Ltd, the Horticulture Trades Association and shopping centres advocating further liberalisation, as well as others such as the Association of Convenience Stores, some large retailers, two individual stores and small groups, supporting the current Sunday trading rules or for further restrictions.

Telephone Services

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many premium rate type telephone lines were in use for members of the public to contact his Department in (a) June 2010 and (b) June 2014.

Jennifer Willott: The Department had no public facing premium rate lines in use in June 2010 or June 2014.

TNT

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what discussions his Department has had with Ofcom regarding the postal service standards provided by TNT.

Jennifer Willott: Ministers and officials in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) meet officials from Ofcom, the independent regulator for postal services, on a regular basis to discuss a broad range of market issues. There have not been any specific discussions about TNT Post’s service standards.
	All postal operators are subject to regulatory conditions set by Ofcom. These regulatory conditions cover such things as the security and confidentiality of the mail that operators handle and ensure that effective complaints procedures are in place for consumers. More information about Ofcom’s regulatory regime can be found on its website at:
	www.ofcom.org.uk

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Compulsory Purchase

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average length of time taken by his Department to issue a Compulsory Purchase Order to a local authority is.

Nicholas Boles: Since May 2012 (when the National Planning Casework Unit took responsibility for this area of work) the average length of time to make a decision on opposed planning Compulsory Purchase Orders has been 10 to 11 weeks.

Compulsory Purchase: Haringey

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  when he expects to reach a decision on whether Haringey Council will be issued with a Compulsory Purchase Order in relation to the site of 1-3 Paxton Road, London N17 0PB;
	(2)  when his Department received the application from Haringey Council for a Compulsory Purchase Order to be issued for the site of 1-3 Paxton Road, London, N17 0PB.

Nicholas Boles: We are currently considering whether to confirm a Compulsory Purchase Order known as the London Borough of Haringey (Northumberland Development Project) (No. 1) submitted by Haringey Council which includes the site of 1-3 Paxton Road. The order was received in the Department on 5 September 2012.
	This is a complex case. After the close of the inquiry there were matters in respect of which further views of the interested parties were sought and considered. This has delayed the decision in this case.
	We hope to issue the decision on this shortly. It is not appropriate to comment further as to do so may prejudice the Secretary of State’s decision.

Equal Opportunities

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what targets his Department has for increasing diversity; and what progress has been made on meeting those targets in the last year.

Brandon Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Paymaster General, my right hon. Friend the Member for Horsham (Mr Maude), on 16 June 2014, Official Report, column 434W.

Housing: ICT

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps he is taking to ensure that newly built residential properties have access to telephone and internet services.

Nicholas Boles: Developers and internet providers recognise the importance of telephone and internet provision in new builds and that customers’ expectation is these services will be available on the day they move in. My Department, with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, is working with house builders and providers of telephone and internet services to ensure newly built residential properties have access to telephone and internet services.

Housing: Planning Permission

John Mann: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government of how many local authority plans arising from which authorities he has rejected the proposed local development framework and required additional housing supply in excess of that specified in the regional spatial strategy.

Nicholas Boles: holding answer 9 June 2014
	The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, my right hon. Friend the Member for Brentwood and Ongar (Mr Pickles), has not rejected any local plan.
	The coalition Government have put local plans and local councils at the heart of planning. We have abolished the unpopular and ineffective top-down targets in regional strategies, shifting power and responsibility for housing and planning to local councils and local communities. Regional strategies are no longer relevant for local plans coming forward for examination.
	The Localism Act 2011 removed planning inspectors’ powers to impose changes on local authorities’ draft local plans. Instead, independent planning inspectors now report to the local authority and identify any conflicts between a draft local plan and national policy and regulatory process. They are able to recommend modifications to overcome these issues if they are asked to do so by the council itself. The local authority is free to choose to accept the inspector’s modifications and adopt the draft plan, or resubmit a new plan. This approach is aimed at encouraging a more collaborative process as the public examination proceeds.

Local Government

Hilary Benn: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what representations his Department has received from (a) local authorities and (b) others on sanctions available to councils under the Localism Act 2011 where councillors have been found to have been in breach of the code of conduct under that Act;
	(2)  what representations his Department has received on the effectiveness of the role of the independent person under the Localism Act 2011;
	(3)  what plans he has to carry out a post-implementation review of the local government standards framework in the Localism Act 2011.

Brandon Lewis: holding answer 12 June 2014
	As stated in the impact assessment on the abolition of the Standards Board regime (published in January 2011), a post-implementation review will be carried out three to five years after implementation of the policy in July 2012.
	My Department routinely receives representations about standards arrangements in local government, and indeed, on a whole range of local government issues. We will have regard to representations and comments when we undertake our post- implementation review.
	However, Ministers are clear that the new provisions are a significant improvement on the old, discredited regime. The Localism Act 2011 has clarified predetermination rules allowing elected councillors to campaign and speak up on local issues. We have reversed the petty culture of malicious and unfounded complaints that wasted time and energy and undermined the good reputation of local government. We have increased transparency on councillors’ interests, and put in place criminal sanctions for the very rare instances of corruption. This is complemented by the role of political parties in ensuring good conduct, the law of libel, and the ultimate sanction—the ballot box.

Noise: Pollution Control

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance his Department provides to music venues facing potential closure from noise abatement notices as a result of change of use of neighbouring buildings under permitted development rights.

Nicholas Boles: holding answer 17 June 2014
	: Under nuisance law, it is for a local authority to decide on a case-by-case basis whether or not a noise constitutes a statutory nuisance. The ‘character of the locality’ is one of a number of relevant factors that would be taken into account, and well-established music venues would certainly be a consideration in assessing the reasonableness of the activity being carried out.
	The National Planning Policy Framework states that existing businesses wanting to develop in continuance of their business should not have unreasonable restrictions put on them because of changes in nearby land uses since they were established. This policy is clearly material when considering planning enforcement cases in relation to new land use changes nearby. Our new suite of planning guidance directly addresses the issue of noise, including advice on noise mitigation measures. This can be found online at:
	http://planningguidance.planningportal.gov.uk/blog/guidance/noise/noise-guidance/
	The licensing process also provides an adjudication mechanism between local residents and licensed premises by which practical measures can be introduced to control and mitigate noise. Statutory guidance recommends practical conditions such as closing doors and windows, the installation of acoustic curtains or rubber speaker mounts. While recognising the need to tackle public nuisance, the guidance also advises that licensing authorities should be aware of the need to avoid inappropriate or disproportionate measures that could deter events that are valuable to the community, such as live music.
	More broadly, it is also in the commercial interests of any developer wishing to sell and market new residential accommodation near an existing music venue or licensed premises, or indeed in any urban environment, to take into account nearby noise, and seek to address that via good internal design and appropriate mitigation mechanisms (such as double glazing).

Planning Permission

David Lammy: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the average length of time taken by his Department to make a decision on a planning application referred to is.

Nicholas Boles: During 2013-14, 272 planning applications were referred to the Secretary of State under the Town and Country Planning (Consultation) (England) Direction 2009. Records indicate that the average number of days it took to make a decision was 21 days.

Regeneration: Liverpool

Steve Rotheram: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if he will undertake an assessment of the effectiveness and progress of the Anfield regeneration project.

Kris Hopkins: holding answer 9 June 2014
	This local regeneration project is being overseen by Liverpool city council, and is not the responsibility of my Department.
	This Government cancelled the last Administration’s controversial Pathfinder programme and its top down targets.
	Given my Department’s quasi-judicial role in the planning process, it would not be appropriate to comment at this stage on any current or pending planning application.

TRANSPORT

Chief Scientific Advisers

Liam Byrne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many meetings he has had with his Department's Chief Scientific Adviser in the last 12 months.

Stephen Hammond: As was the case under previous Administrations, details of internal meetings are not normally disclosed.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of projected ticket prices for rail passengers using the High Speed 2 rail line.

Robert Goodwill: In order to test the case for HS2, current fares were assumed to increase by RPI+1% annually until 2036 after which fares are assumed to grow in line with inflation. No fares differential was applied to services using the high-speed infrastructure. This is an assumption which provides an appropriate basis for modelling costs and benefits, but does not represent a prediction of future rail fares, which will be affected by Government policy, market and industry changes across the GB rail network over many years.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he expects High Speed 2 will require a separate ticket pricing structure from regular rail services.

Robert Goodwill: The HS2 business case demonstrates that the project can deliver significant benefits for the country without any fares differential being required for journeys using the high-speed line. It is too soon to know what fares will be set for travel on HS2 services. Government decisions about fares structures and regulation will be taken closer to the commencement of HS2 phase 1 services in 2026.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Barry Sheerman: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to publish information on ticket pricing for High Speed 2.

Robert Goodwill: There are currently no plans to publish information relating to the likely structure or level of ticket prices for journeys using the HS2 railway following the opening of HS2 phase 1 in 2026 and beyond.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what form he expects the Chinese investment in High Speed 2 to take.

Robert Goodwill: The 2013 spending review provided a long-term funding commitment of £50 billion to deliver HS2. We are continuously seeking ways to reduce costs to the taxpayer, and we are very open to proposals around including elements of private financing, including Chinese investment.
	Opportunities for external investment might exist in relation to rolling stock and development and regeneration around stations. This could provide benefits to both taxpayers and investors.

High Speed 2 Railway Line

Frank Dobson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he expects Chinese workers to be employed in the construction of High Speed 2.

Robert Goodwill: Contracts let for the construction of HS2 infrastructure and rolling stock will be open to competition irrespective of country of origin, in accordance with EU and UK procurement legislation.
	Prospective bidders are welcome to work alongside British-based bidders.
	It will be for bidders to propose how they can best deliver their proposals and the contribution of British companies and supply chain will be of interest.
	HS2 Ltd is undertaking a range of initiatives to ensure businesses are aware of the opportunities and their forthcoming requirements so that they can prepare, so as to compete effectively.
	Any non-EU overseas workers would of course be subject to the UK's immigration regime and would be required to comply with whatever regulations were in force at the time.

Large Goods Vehicle Drivers

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he is taking to encourage local authorities to provide training for drivers of heavy goods vehicles to increase awareness of the dangers faced by cyclists.

Stephen Hammond: In addition to licence acquisition tests which require drivers to demonstrate knowledge of vulnerable road users, the EU mandated Driver Certificate of Professional Competence requires drivers of heavy goods vehicles to carry out five days of further training in every five-year period. Within the confines of the directive, we would encourage drivers and employers to select the training which best meets their needs, which may be a course on vulnerable road users.
	We welcome initiatives such as ‘Exchanging Places' events where cyclists and drivers of HGVs and buses get to experience the perspectives of others , and encourage local authorities to consider such activities which can improve road sharing.

Telephone Services

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many telephone lines with the prefix (a) 0845, (b) 0844 and (c) 0843 his Department (i) operates and (ii) sponsors; how many calls each such number has received in the last 12 months; and whether alternative numbers charged at BT local rates are available in each such case.

Stephen Hammond: The Department has three numbers in use detailed in the following table:
	
		
			 Area/agency Number Comments Calls received in last 12 months Alternative numbers charged at the BT local rate are available in each case 
			 Highways Agency 0845 7504030 This is the old Highways Agency Information Line (HAIL) phone number. The HA has paid for it to now operate as a diversion number to the new cheaper number (0300 1235000). It has been retained as it may appear on old literature but is not advertised any more. The use of the HA 0845 number was discontinued in November 2013. Calls received in the 12 months preceding discontinuance of the number 11,244. HA only advertises the *0300 HAIL number (0300 1235000) now. 
			      
			 Highways Agency 0845 9556575 This is the national Highways Agency switchboard number. 20,851 HA also advertises the local landline number: 0121 335 8301. 
			      
			 VOSA (Vehicle Operators Services Agency) 0845 6005977 This number offers guidance on MOT testing standards and an option to book MOT seminars. Due to replacement of our telephony systems, statistics are only available from December 2012 to present; in this time VOSA received 3,345 calls via this number. Both of these options are also available via the VOSA National Number, *0300 123 9000, which is charged at standard geographic rate.

WOMEN AND EQUALITIES

Domestic Violence

Justin Tomlinson: To ask the Ministers for Women and for Equalities what recent discussions the Government Equalities Office has had with the Home Office about ending domestic abuse and violence against women.

Nicky Morgan: I have regular meetings and discussions with my colleagues on this and other matters affecting women and equality, including attending the Violence Against Women and Girls Inter-Ministerial Group, and working with ministerial colleagues to co-ordinate policy on tackling this abhorrent crime. Officials from the Government Equalities Office work closely with Home Office colleagues on this policy area and recently co-hosted an event working with employers to recognise and support employees who are victims of domestic violence.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Compensation

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much has been paid in consolatory payments for claimants in (a) Preston and (b) the rest of the UK in each of the last three years.

Michael Penning: Information regarding the amount paid in consolatory payments to claimants in Preston is not collated centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The amount paid in consolatory payments to GB claimants in each of the last three years is in the table.
	
		
			  Total paid in consolatory payments (£) 
			 2011-12 673,000 
			 2012-13 700,000 
		
	
	
		
			 2013-14 552,000 
			 Notes: 1. The amounts are rounded to the nearest thousand. 2. The information provided is for GB. Information regarding Northern Ireland is a matter for the Northern Ireland Office. 3. The information covers payments made by the following DWP business areas: Jobcentre Plus, Child Support Agency, Disability and Carers Service, the Pensions Service and Debt Management.

Employment

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of the number of employment opportunities resulting from the Commonwealth Games; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: It is estimated by the organising committee, Glasgow 2014 Ltd, that up to 30,000 employment opportunities will be created by the Commonwealth games.

Employment and Support Allowance

Fiona Bruce: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what progress his Department has made on improving the employment and support allowance appeals process.

Michael Penning: Appeals against employment and support allowance decisions decreased by just under 90% in the first quarter of this year compared with the same period in 2013.
	Our reforms to the appeals process mean claimants are now contacted much earlier, with the decision explained to them, and—through Mandatory Reconsideration—they are given the opportunity to provide further evidence. This is helping to resolve disputes as early as possible, and avoids the need for costly and protracted appeals.
	We are using feedback from the First tier Tribunal to improve our approach to decision making as part of the Department's continuous improvement work, and where we identify improvements, we will make them.

Employment and Support Allowance: Bradford

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many cases in Bradford are (a) pending and (b) being processed through his Department's mandatory reconsideration mechanism;
	(2)  how many cases in Bradford are awaiting mandatory reconsideration of employment and support allowance decisions.

Esther McVey: The information requested is not available.

Employment and Support Allowance: West Yorkshire

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what additional resources his Department is making available to reduce the time taken to process requests for mandatory reconsideration of employment and support allowance decisions in West Yorkshire.

Esther McVey: We have targeted the resource we use nationally so that requests are processed as quickly as possible to minimise any undue delays, without compromising good quality decision making.
	In addition we are currently reviewing the customer journey to understand where the pinch points are in the decision-making process in order to reduce the end-to- end journey time.

Employment Schemes: Glasgow

John Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with Glasgow city council on the Glasgow Guarantee.

Esther McVey: The Secretary of State has not had recent discussions with Glasgow city council on the Glasgow Guarantee.

Jobcentre Plus

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions which jobcentres (a) do and (b) do not have wi-fi access for jobseekers to use.

Esther McVey: The Digital Jobcentres project will modernise the Jobcentre digital infrastructure by delivering wi-fi and Web Access Devices (WADs) across the Jobcentre network. From now until the end of October, we will be installing wi-fi and new Web Access Devices (WADs) across the Jobcentre network.
	The following 39 Jobcentres already have wi-fi available for jobseekers to use:
	London Bridge
	Ashton under Lyme
	Newport
	Hammersmith
	Rusholme
	Rugby
	Poole
	Inverness
	Newton Abbot
	Wigan
	Chester
	Warrington
	Swansea
	Oldham
	Motherwell
	Harrogate
	Abertillery
	Bath
	Bargoed
	Caerphilly
	Sutton
	Ebbw Vale
	Altrincham
	Merthyr Tydfil
	Hyde
	Tredegar
	Stalybridge
	Wolverhampton
	Stretford
	Scarborough
	Airdrie
	Coventry
	Erdington
	Rotherham
	Sheffield, Cavendish Court
	Wakefield
	Shotton
	Blackwood
	Derby
	By the end of October 2014, the remaining offices in the Jobcentre network will have wi-fi installed and available for jobseekers to use.

Jobcentre Plus: Middlesbrough

Andrew McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimate he has made of changes in the number of interpreters available at Middlesbrough Jobcentre in the last 12 months.

Esther McVey: There have been no changes in the number of interpreters available at Middlesbrough Jobcentre (James Cook House, 79 Corporation Road, Middlesbrough, TS1 2BA) in the last 12 months.

National Employment Savings Trust Scheme

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are enrolled in the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST); how many such people enrolled in NEST are making additional payments by direct debit each month; and what the average additional contribution by direct debit each month is.

Steve Webb: The National Employment Savings Trust announced on 1 April 2014 that they have over a million members.
	The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold information about the number of scheme members making monthly additional payments by direct debit to NEST nor does it hold information on the average additional contribution by direct debit each month to NEST.

National Employment Savings Trust Scheme

Mark Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much is paid out in tax relief each month for savers within the National Employment Savings Trust; and what the average amount paid out in tax relief has been to a scheme member in each month.

Steve Webb: The Department for Work and Pensions does not hold the information requested.

Personal Independence Payment

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims for personal independence payment have been refused to date.

Michael Penning: The available data on the number of claims and decisions made up to 28 March 2014 have been published and are available from:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/317425/pip-statistical-release-june-2014.pdf
	Between 8 April 2013 and 28 March 2014, 34,300 claims to personal independence payment had been disallowed.
	Notes:
	1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.
	2. Figures do not include claims withdrawn prior to a decision.

Personal Independence Payment

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claims have been submitted for personal independence payment in each month since its introduction.

Michael Penning: Further to the figures published on 5 June 2014, the following table shows how many claims have been submitted for personal independence payment:
	
		
			  New claims not made under Special Rules for Terminally Ill People New claims made under Special Rules for Terminally Ill People All PIP New Claims 
			 April 2013 3,000 200 3,100 
			 May 2013 4,800 200 5,000 
			 June 2013 23,000 900 23,800 
			 July 2013 34,200 1,500 35,700 
			 August 2013 30,600 1,300 31,900 
			 September 2013 33,800 1,300 35,100 
			 October 2013 35,600 1,500 37,100 
			 November 2013 33,300 1,400 34,700 
			 December 2013 22,000 1,200 23,200 
			 January 2014 38,000 1,600 39,500 
			 February 2014 39,000 1,400 40,400 
			 March 2014 37,900 1,500 39,500 
			 April 2013 to March 2014 335,100 13,900 349,000 
			 Note: 1. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100, therefore totals may not sum due to rounding. 2. Whether a claim is a ‘New claim made under Special Rules for Terminally Ill People’ has been determined at the point of registration: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-official-statistics-june-2014

Personal Independence Payment

David Crausby: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average time to process a personal independence payment claim has been in each month since it was introduced.

Michael Penning: The information you have requested is not currently available.

Personal Independence Payment

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many claimants for personal independence payment who require a home consultation have waited longer than (a) one, (b) two, (c) three, (d) four, (e) five and (f) six or more months for such a consultation.

Michael Penning: The information requested is not currently available.

Personal Independence Payment

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what comparative assessment he has made of the average waiting time for claimants of the personal independence payment who require a home consultation in (a) Ashfield constituency, (b) Nottinghamshire and (c) the UK.

Michael Penning: The information requested is not currently available.

Personal Independence Payment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many applications for personal independence payment were made by individuals diagnosed with a terminal illness in each of the three months to June 2014;
	(2)  how many decisions on applications for personal independence payment from individuals diagnosed with a terminal illness were made in each of the three months to June 2014;
	(3)  what the average duration has been of the assessment period for each claim for personal independence payment from a person diagnosed with a terminal illness in each of the three months to June 2014.

Michael Penning: I refer the right hon. Member to the written answer I gave him on 18 June 2014, Official Report, column 629W. Information on clearance times is not currently available. Statistics on clearance times are intended for future publication.

Personal Independence Payment

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when the contracts for personal independence payment assessments were awarded to Atos and Capita; and how many applications they were forecast to have processed by (a) March 2014 and (b) March 2015.

Michael Penning: The start date for both Atos and Capita contracts was 31 July 2012.
	No forecast figures are available for numbers of applications processed.

Social Security Benefits

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people are claiming (a) disability living allowance and (b) personal independence payment following an adverse effect to a medical procedure.

Michael Penning: No data on causation of a health condition or disability are collected for disability living allowance or personal independence payment.

Social Security Benefits

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Health on ensuring that people claiming benefits receive medical treatment that has been identified as enabling them to return to work; and if he will make a statement.

Michael Penning: The Secretary of State for Work and Pensions has not had any recent discussions with the Secretary of State for Health on this subject.

Standards

David Ward: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his Department's key performance indicators are for decisions that require mandatory reconsideration.

Esther McVey: There is no statutory time limit. We deliberately do not have one because each case will be considered on its merits.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Richard Fuller: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what his policy is on the freezing of state pensions for those living overseas.

Steve Webb: The UK state pension is payable worldwide. However, where a recipient is not ordinarily resident in the UK, eligibility for annual up-rates is generally restricted to people living in a country which is a member of the European Economic Area, including by extension Switzerland, or in a country with which the UK has a bilateral social security agreement that provides for up-rating of the UK state pension. A list of these countries can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/state-pensions-annual-increases-if-you-live-abroad
	Restricting the availability of annual up-rates to the UK state pensions in this manner has been the long- standing policy of successive Governments. This Government have no plans to change it.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

Christopher Chope: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many pensions are paid to British citizens resident overseas.

Steve Webb: Figures for the pension caseload are published on the DWP tabulation tool at:
	http://tabulation-tool.dwp.gov.uk/100pc/sp/ccgor/ccsex/a_carate_r_ccgor_c_ccsex_nov13.html
	No information is available on the nationality or citizenship of state pensions recipients. However, in November 2013, there were approximately 1.21 million state pensions paid outside Great Britain. Not all of these will necessarily be to British citizens, but may be to anyone who has built up an entitlement to a state pension, regardless of nationality.

Unemployment: Young People

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether he expects EU funding allocated to the Youth Guarantee to be drawn down in the UK.

Esther McVey: There is no EU funding allocated to the Youth Guarantee.

Unemployment: Young People

Tobias Ellwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what recent estimate he has made of the level of youth unemployment in (a) the UK and (b) Bournemouth East constituency; and if he will make a statement.

Esther McVey: Excluding full-time students, nationally there were 565,000 unemployed under-25s in February to April 2014, a fall of nearly 100,000 since the 2010 election. Latest figures show 5,700 unemployed under-25s in Bournemouth East in January to December 2013, a fall of 900 compared to the same period in 2010.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many officials have acted as Senior Responsible Officer for the universal credit project since 2010.

Esther McVey: Five officials have acted as Senior Responsible Officer for the universal credit project since 2010.

Universal Credit

Rachel Reeves: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will publish the business case for the universal credit programme.

Esther McVey: In line with standard practice, as the universal credit business case includes details of a sensitive nature the Department will not be putting the business case into the public domain.

Universal Credit

Stephen Timms: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people started to receive universal credit in March 2014.

Esther McVey: Statistics on how many people started on universal credit in March 2014 can be found at:
	https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/universal-credit-statistics

Work Capability Assessment

Cathy Jamieson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to the answer of 11 June 2014, Official Report, column 176W, on work capability assessment, if he will make it his policy to set a target time scale for employment and support allowance and incapacity benefit reassessment work capability assessments in order to monitor and reduce the waiting times for those assessments.

Michael Penning: We are committed to completing work capability assessments as quickly as possible so that eligible claimants receive the appropriate rate of benefit.
	However it is important to get assessments right rather than setting an artificial time scale for completion. We are working with the existing supplier to improve processing times and reduce waiting times. In addition, we are seeking a replacement supplier to undertake work capability assessments.
	In the meantime we continue rigorously to monitor and manage the existing contract to ensure that both quality and performance are maintained as part of our drive to improve the quality of decision making and to process claims more quickly.